BioNTech losses more-than-quadruple in second quarter

5th Aug 2024 12:09

(Sharecast News) - German pharmaceutical company BioNTech reported a sharp increase in losses for its second quarter on Monday, as it pivoted away from its Covid-19 vaccine business towards cancer drug development.

The company revealed a net loss of €807.8m for the quarter - significantly wider than the €190.4m loss recorded in the same period last year.

It said a decline in Covid-19 vaccine sales played a major role in the financial downturn, with overall quarterly revenue falling 23% to €128.7m.

BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine, developed in collaboration with Pfizer, had been a major revenue driver during the pandemic, but demand had since waned.

In response, BioNTech said it was reallocating resources, with 90% of its research and development budget now focussed on non-Covid projects, particularly in oncology and mRNA technologies.

The company said it planned to launch its first cancer treatment by 2026.

"The year to date has been marked by significant data updates across our oncology portfolio," said co-founder and chief executive officer Ugur Sahin.

"These readouts reinforce the potential of our platform technologies including our individualised and off-the-shelf mRNA vaccine platforms, iNeST and FixVac.

"We have also advanced our strategy by initiating clinical trials evaluating novel combinations of synergistic drug candidates."

Dr Sahin noted that the company dosed the first patient in a trial evaluating the combination of the TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate BNT325/DB-1305 and the PD-L1-VEGF-A bispecific BNT327/PM8002, aiming to harness the "potent" anti-tumour activity of antibody drug conjugates along with the sustained benefit of immunomodulators,.

"In addition, we have started commercialising variant-adapted Covid-19 vaccines for the upcoming season, while accelerating our clinical development efforts to realise the full potential of our technologies.

"We are making progress towards our goal of becoming a company with marketed medicines for cancer and infectious diseases."

At 1458 CEST (1358 BST), shares in BioNTech were down 5.8% at €69.90.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.