On Monday, BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) released its first-quarter earnings report, revealing a shift from an income of 2.05 euros to a loss of 1.31 euros per share, missing the consensus estimate of a 97-cent loss. Sales for the quarter amounted to 187.6 million euros, significantly lower than the 1.3 billion euros reported a year ago and falling short of the consensus forecast of 427.5 million euros. The company also posted a quarterly net loss of 315 million euros compared to a profit of 502 million euros in the same period last year.
Jens Holstein, BioNTech’s CFO, expressed confidence in the company’s future, stating that approximately 90% of their full-year revenues are expected to be recognized in the last months of 2024, primarily in Q4. He emphasized the company’s strong cash position of 16.9 billion euros, which positions them well to invest in their R&D pipeline and scale the business for commercial readiness in oncology.
Ugur Sahin, CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech highlighted positive preliminary data for both their individualized and off-the-shelf mRNA-based candidates, underscoring the potential of their iNeST and FixVac platforms. He expressed anticipation for providing more updates throughout the year across their oncology portfolio, including bispecific antibody and ADC programs.
Looking ahead, BioNTech plans to develop and commercialize a variant-adapted COVID-19 vaccine and accelerate clinical development activities to realize the full potential of their oncology pipeline, aiming to become a commercial company with marketed medicines for cancer and infectious diseases.
In terms of guidance, BioNTech reaffirmed its target of 2024 revenues ranging from 2.5 billion euros to 3.1 billion euros. Meanwhile, their partner Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) stated last week that it expects $8 billion in combined 2024 sales of its COVID-19 products, with $5 billion coming from BioNTech’s partnered Comirnaty-COVID-19 vaccine.
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Author Faith Yakubu 
