Why? Anyone who would be investing in companies would know it's Biontech if they did 5 minutes of research. I think they'll do just fine after developing the vaccine. The people who matter to their future will know their name.
Don't underestimate the value of political support by having name recognition.
Imagine if instead of Solyndra, the money went to GE or something. The project still failed, the government still lost the money. But it's a lot easier to sell "We gave the money to this well known company, the project failed, it happens" even though the result is exactly the same.
