The Biontech founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci. Getty Images/Bernd von Jutrczenka
The Covid-19 vaccine business continues to shrink. Despite a quarterly loss, the Mainz-based company is sticking to its expectations for the year as a whole.
The bottom line was a net loss of 315.1 million euros in the first quarter after a profit of 502.2 million in the same period last year.
Over the course of this year, the development and marketing of the adapted Covid-19 vaccine as well as the development of anti-cancer agents should be promoted.
The Mainz-based vaccine manufacturer Biontech started the 2024 financial year with a loss. The bottom line was a net loss of 315.1 million euros in the first quarter after a profit of 502.2 million in the same period last year, as the company announced on Monday in Mainz. Sales collapsed from 1.27 billion euros in the first quarter of 2023 to 187.6 million euros.
Biontech justified this with reduced revenue from the Covid-19 vaccine, which had made the company world famous. According to its own information, the company is currently working on another adapted Covid-19 vaccine for the coming 2024/25 vaccination season. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have made their recommendations for adjustment, Biontech also announced. They want to submit this to the authorities later this month.
For the entire year 2024, the Mainz company continues to expect sales of between 2.5 and 3.1 billion euros. However, they assume that around 90 percent of this will be achieved in the last few months of this year.
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Biontech wants to bring its first cancer drug onto the market in 2026. There are currently two studies in late phase 3: A study on a candidate drug against lung cancer has been running since June last year, and one on a possible drug against breast cancer was added at the beginning of this year. Another phase 3 study is scheduled to begin shortly in the case of an active ingredient against recurrent cervical cancer.
Over the course of this year, the development and marketing of the adapted Covid-19 vaccine as well as the development of anti-cancer agents should be promoted, said company boss and co-founder Uğur Şahin, according to a statement. “Biontech is intended to become a commercially operating company with drugs against cancer and infectious diseases.” In the area of infectious diseases, Biontech started clinical testing for vaccine candidates against malaria, tuberculosis and Mpox last year. The latter was previously called monkeypox.
jm/dpa
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