Image: APA/AFP/FRED TANNEAU
At the German biotech company Biontech, the lucrative billion-euro business with corona vaccines is losing momentum. Sales fell in the first quarter from 6.37 billion euros a year ago to 1.27 billion euros (minus 80 percent), as announced on Monday. The company wrote a net profit of 502 million euros after it had been 3.7 billion in the same period last year (down 86 percent).
The US partner Pfizer also recently reported a significant drop in sales and profits and, given the waning of the corona pandemic, is assuming significantly lower demand for the Covid vaccine Comirnaty.
Biontech expects annual sales of around five billion euros with Covid vaccines this year. In 2022, the company had a turnover of 17.3 billion euros here.
Biontech anticipates fewer primary vaccinations and a lower rate of booster vaccinations. However, demand could increase with adaptations – the current focus for Covid vaccines is on preparations for a possible adaptation before the autumn season and the development of next-generation vaccines. For some time now, Biontech has been focusing more and more on cancer research, in which the company has its roots. A decisive phase 3 study with a cancer drug for use in lung cancer, which Biontech had secured in March in a million-dollar transaction with the US cancer specialist OncoC4, is scheduled to start this year. A phase 2 study with a cancer vaccine candidate in pancreatic cancer patients is also planned.
Such developments and the fact that the quarterly figures were still above expectations meant that the Biontech share was in high demand on Monday.
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