The vaccine manufacturer Biontech is also working on the development of new products with the tailwind of another billion in profit thanks to the Corona vaccine. One focus of the Mainz-based company will be on the development of therapies against cancer, for which the company is also expanding sales structures for future oncology products this year and next, as Biontech announced on Monday. A kind of transitional year is expected in the Covid-19 vaccine business, where sales are declining. After government contracts have been the main focus in recent years, commercial orders are now likely to increase.
Last year, Biontech had a total turnover of 17.3 billion euros after almost 19 billion in the previous year. The bottom line is that Mainz posted a net profit of 9.4 billion euros and thus also slightly less than 2021 with 10.3 billion. In 2021, Biontech and US partner Pfizer delivered more than 2.6 billion doses of corona vaccines, and around 2 billion doses were still invoiced last year. For 2023, the company expects sales of around 5 billion euros with Covid-19 vaccines.
The market for corona vaccines is still considered dynamic, said CEO Ugur Sahin. According to Biontech, renewed negotiations about the existing supply contract with the European Commission are likely to have a significant impact on revenues. According to the company, it is possible that the delivery of vaccine doses will be staggered over several years or that the volume will be reduced. Biontech expects seasonal demand, which means that the expected sales are likely to shift significantly to the second half of 2023, when infectious diseases typically increase due to the weather.
"In 2023 and beyond, we want to continue investing in our transformation," emphasized Sahin. It is about building commercial capacities in oncology and working towards registration studies. For future oncology products, the Mainz-based company would like to set up a sales organization in the USA, the EU and other selected regions this year and next.
Overall, the company is planning investments in research and development of 2.4 to 2.6 billion euros in 2023. In addition to oncological products and corona vaccines, including their adaptation to new variants, Biontech is developing other vaccines based on the messenger molecule mRNA, for example against malaria or shingles. The company is also working with Pfizer to develop a combined mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 and influenza. This combination vaccine was included in an accelerated approval process by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December.
Biontech also wants to put part of the billions in profit from last year into another share buyback program. The company's management would like to have a corresponding program approved in the amount of up to 0.5 billion euros for the period up to the end of 2023.
Additional source: Biontech press release.
