Adapted coronavirus vaccines drive BioNTech sales

German pharmaceutical company BioNTech was back in profit in the third quarter of 2024, it announced on Monday, with comparatively early approvals for adapted coronavirus vaccines driving up sales, reported dpa.

Overall, revenues amounted to €1.24 billion at the Mainz-based company, which became famous early in the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 for quickly developing a vaccine. The firm made a profit of €198.1 million, compared with a loss of almost €808 million in the previous quarter.

The variant-adapted Covid-19 vaccines were brought to market earlier than in the previous year due to regulatory approvals in the EU, the UK and the US, said chief financial officer Jens Holstein.

This contributed to the strong sales in the third quarter which ended in September, he said. In the third quarter of the previous year, sales were lower at around €895 million, with a profit of €160.6 million.

Despite sales of around €1.56 billion, the company posted a loss of almost €925 million for the first nine months of the current fiscal year. For the year as a whole, BioNTech now expects sales at the lower end of the forecast range of between €2.5 billion and €3.1 billion.

Together with the US company Pfizer, BioNTech is currently working on the development of a combination vaccine against influenza and Covid-19.

Chief executive Uğur Şahin said he also sees progress in the development of cancer drugs. BioNTech is aiming for the first market approval for an anti-cancer drug in 2026, and from then on, annual market approvals in oncology are planned.