"The partnership with pharmaceutical giant BMS is providing a boost – but the Mainz-based company remains cautious regarding expenditures.
The strategic collaboration with the American pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is paying off for BioNTech, based in Mainz. In the third quarter, the biotech company's revenues climbed to €1.51 billion, significantly exceeding the previous year's figure of €1.24 billion.
Against this backdrop, CEO Ugur Sahin is significantly raising the revenue forecast for 2025: Instead of the previously expected €1.7 to €2.2 billion, the company now anticipates revenues between €2.6 and €2.8 billion. However, due to ongoing investments in advanced development projects, a net loss is expected for the full year. In the third quarter, the bottom line showed a loss of €28.7 million, after a profit of €198.1 million in the previous year. For the first nine months of the year, the net loss decreased from €924.8 million to €831.1 million.
The main driver of this development is the new revenue generated from the strategic collaboration with BMS. In the third quarter alone, $700 million came from the collaboration on the development and marketing of the key therapy BNT327. The bispecific antibody candidate, now known as Pumitamig, is expected to play a central role in BioNTech's approach to combination therapies against cancer. To accelerate the expensive clinical trials, BioNTech partnered with BMS in June. $1.5 billion has already been received as an upfront payment, with another $2 billion to follow by 2028 as development progresses. "The receipt of $1.5 billion from our partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb underscores once again the strategic value of our collaborations, not only in the long term, but also in the short term," said CEO Ugur Sahin. "In the short term," said CFO Ramón Zapata on Monday.
The funds from the collaboration also strengthen the Mainz-based company's liquidity base. At the end of the quarter, BioNTech had liquid assets of €16.7 billion – a financial cushion intended to secure its ambitious plans for cancer immunotherapies. By 2030, the company aims to become a multi-product provider; so far, its commercial success is solely attributable to its continuously updated COVID-19 vaccine. For this season, BioNTech and its partner Pfizer have also brought a variant-adapted vaccine to market on time. "Our strong financial position allows us to make further investments in our focus programs in the late stages of clinical development and to prepare for the commercialization of our diversified oncology portfolio," said Zapata.
Despite the positive momentum and increased investments in research and development in the third quarter, BioNTech is exercising greater spending discipline with regard to the full year. This is particularly evident in research and development costs: instead of the €2.6 to €2.8 billion planned in the spring, the figure is now expected to be €2 to €2.2 billion. The adjusted forecast reflects both cost savings through active portfolio management and a focus on development programs in advanced stages of immuno-oncology and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), according to the company.
The latter represent an innovative approach in chemotherapy, in which the toxic active ingredient is specifically delivered to the cancer cell, largely sparing healthy tissue. Compared to conventional chemotherapy, this significantly reduces side effects. This approach also plays an important role in the Mainz-based company's strategy.
Together with its Chinese partner Duality Bio, BioNTech is developing the ADC candidate BNT323 (Trastuzumab Pamirtecan, or T-Pam), which is expected to be the first cancer drug from the Mainz-based company to be launched next year.
Originally, BioNTech had... They had considered submitting the marketing authorization application in the USA for this indication (uterine cancer) later this year. Discussions between the partners and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are ongoing and are expected to continue in 2026, according to recent reports. Subject to final feedback from the agency, the companies still plan to submit a marketing authorization application in 2026.
Biontech, on the other hand, aims to complete the acquisition of its Tübingen-based mRNA rival, Curevac, this year. Following approval from the German Federal Cartel Office, the deadline for the public exchange offer to Curevac shareholders, announced by Sahin in June, is now running. Shareholders have until December 3rd (3 p.m.) to exchange their shares for Biontech shares. The Mainz-based company has set the transaction value at approximately 1.25 billion euros. Important major Curevac shareholders, including the long-standing investor, have already indicated their support. He and SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp, as well as the state-owned development bank KfW, are supporting the takeover among the German mRNA champions.
The deal is important for BioNTech for several reasons: On the one hand, it allows them to acquire a potential rival and secure its patents and expertise in the field of mRNA technology. These would be particularly useful for their cancer vaccine program. On the other hand, this elegantly resolves the patent disputes surrounding the development of the coronavirus vaccines that BioNTech and CureVac have been fighting in court in recent years – at a significantly more manageable price than a court ruling on licensing fees might have cost BioNTech. $370 million each have now been paid to settle the legal disputes with CureVac and its partner GSK. Industry experts considered licensing payments in the billions from BioNTech to CureVac to be entirely possible.” [1]
1. Biontech hebt Umsatzziel an. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 04 Nov 2025: 20. Von Vanessa Trzewik, Frankfurt
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