Shares of BioNTech fell by more than 6% on Monday morning after the German drugmaker shared a bleak 2023 sales outlook for its Covid vaccine, developed jointly with Pfizer.
Despite delivering strong quarterly earnings that beat expectations, BioNTech reported a slight revenue decline from the previous year due to decreased demand for its Covid vaccine, which remains its sole marketed product.
The company expects this demand to decrease further, forecasting Covid vaccine revenue of 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) for the year, a sharp drop from the 17.3 billion euros (over $18 billion) in 2022.
Initially, BioNTech’s shares dropped 6.4% to an intraday low of $119.98 before recovering in late morning trading. By noon, the stock had decreased by about one percentage point.
In its earnings release, BioNTech highlighted efforts to adapt the Covid vaccine to new virus strains, which are anticipated to boost product demand this year.
Last fall, BioNTech and Pfizer launched the world’s first omicron-adapted Covid booster, selling approximately 550 million doses by mid-December.
However, the company also expects fewer primary series vaccinations and lower booster uptake this year.
Additionally, BioNTech is renegotiating its supply contract with the European Union’s executive body, potentially spreading vaccine deliveries over multiple years and reducing volume.
Despite BioNTech’s gloomy outlook, Pfizer shares remained relatively stable on Monday morning.
BioNTech is the latest company to predict a decline in demand for Covid products as the world moves past the pandemic.
In January, Pfizer informed investors that it anticipates Covid vaccine sales to drop by 64% this year, with sales of its Covid antiviral treatment Paxlovid expected to fall by 58%.
BioNTech and Pfizer became well-known during the pandemic for creating one of the first globally available vaccines using messenger RNA technology.
BioNTech is now focusing on expanding its drug pipeline, outlining efforts to use mRNA technology for cancer and other diseases.
“As we look to 2023 and beyond, we plan to continue investing in our transformation with a focus on building commercial capabilities in oncology and working towards registrational trials,” the company said in the earnings release.
BioNTech also stated that its “mid-term goal” for the year is to seek approval for several cancer products.
