BioNTech Beats Estimates as Vaccine Maker Pursues More Diseases

BioNTech SE reported better-than-expected earnings from Covid-19 vaccines as the German company looks to develop products for fighting other infectious diseases and cancer.

(Bloomberg) — BioNTech SE reported better-than-expected earnings from Covid-19 vaccines as the German company looks to develop products for fighting other infectious diseases and cancer.

First-quarter sales of €1.28 billion ($1.4 billion) exceeded the €1.1 billion average analyst estimate. Earnings per share reached €2.05, according to a statement Monday. Analysts expected 69 cents.

BioNTech is plowing its war chest of money from Covid vaccines into a pipeline of experimental medicines that are targeting other infectious diseases and tough-to-treat cancers. Investors are looking for signs about how soon the company will bring other products to market, as revenue from the Covid vaccines fell 80% in the first quarter.

Later this year, BioNTech plans to start its first late-stage trial for a cancer therapy, an antibody treatment that it licensed in March from OncoC4 Inc. That study will evaluate the medicine in patients who have already failed to overcome a form of lung cancer with existing types of immune therapy.

Last month, BioNTech began an early stage trial for mRNA vaccines against tuberculosis, which was the world’s deadliest infectious disease until Covid emerged. The lung disease killed an estimated 1.6 million people in 2021. BioNTech has partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for that program.

The company also plans to present clinical data next month on three cancer therapies at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago, it said.

BioNTech shot to fame during the pandemic when it teamed up with Pfizer Inc. to create one of the first Covid vaccines to become available globally. The product uses mRNA technology, which had never had made it to market before.

BioNTech also reiterated its 2023 forecast of about €5 billion in sales from Covid vaccines. It’s developing next-generation versions of the product and preparing to update the offering to target future coronavirus variants.

The World Health Organization lowered Covid-19 from its highest level of emergency Friday, but said that the pandemic continues and needs to be managed for the long-term.

–With assistance from John Lauerman.

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