The Mainz vaccine manufacturer BioNTech announced its quarterly figures before the start of US trading on Monday and reported a significant loss. In the second quarter of 2024, the company recorded a deficit of 807.8 million euros, which is more than four times the loss of 190.4 million euros in the same period the previous year. In the first half of 2024, the net loss amounted to 1.12 billion euros, while a profit of 311.8 million euros was realized in the first half of the previous year.

We are making progress towards our goal of becoming a company with approved drugs against cancer and infectious diseases," said company CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin. In the second quarter alone, BioNTech invested 525.6 million euros in non-Covid-19-related activities, which accounts for around 90 percent of all research and development costs, according to their own statements. The focus was particularly on oncology and the development of preparations against infectious diseases.

For the full year 2024, despite a decline in revenue in the second quarter due to shrinking income from the Covid-19 vaccine business, the company still expects total revenue of 2.5 to 3.1 billion euros. The majority of revenue is expected in the fourth quarter. In the second quarter, revenues amounted to 128.7 million euros, down from 167.7 million euros in the same period of the previous year.

BioNTech has begun the market launch of a tailored Covid-19 vaccine for the 2024/25 vaccination season. Approvals have already been granted for the EU and the UK, and approval applications are underway in more than 40 countries worldwide. In the USA, BioNTech expects approval by mid-September, as stated by Sahin.

Chief Financial Officer Jens Holstein explained that BioNTech would focus on the long-term growth strategy later in the 2024 fiscal year. This includes the continuation of ongoing clinical trials for several types of cancer as well as combined vaccines, such as one for Covid-19 and influenza, and the expansion of mRNA production capacities at the headquarters in Mainz and in Marburg.

The BioNTech share on the NASDAQ was at times down 4.04 percent at 78.70 US dollars following the financial report.