Vaccine manufacturer: BioNTech’s steep way to the top

For BioNTech, the corona vaccine is not only a medical, but also an enormous economic success for a long time. But the competition for the company is increasing.

“Well, already vaccinated?” – “Yes!” – “By which?” – This is how a conversation often begins about vaccinating against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people in Germany will answer these questions: BioNTech. In the home country of the Mainz manufacturer, more than 75 million cans of BioNTech / Pfizer have been delivered. The other manufacturers are far behind. Worldwide, however, it looks very different. BioNTech / Pfizer hardly play a role in large countries such as China, India or Brazil. These countries have mainly signed contracts with AstraZeneca.

One reason is the price: You can get a syringe with AstraZeneca for around two dollars, a vaccination “Made in Germany” costs almost ten times as much. The high prices are possible because the vaccine provides better protection with mRNA technology and because currently only two suppliers have received approval for their mRNA vaccine: BioNTech / Pfizer and the US company Moderna. No wonder that the USA and Europe in particular have ordered hundreds of millions of vaccine doses from these two companies.

What’s the future like?

For the two BioNTech founders Öslem Türeci and Ugur Sahin, economic success has also set in after their medical success. Already in the first three months of the year there was a profit of 1.1 billion euros on the balance sheet. On the stock exchange, her company is now valued at more than 100 billion dollars, significantly more than the chemical giant BASF.

But investors are primarily interested in future prospects – so what’s next? BioNTech is now also researching a vaccine against malaria. According to Timo Kürschner, who analyzes the pharmaceutical market at the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), it is not possible to make so much money with such a vaccine, since malaria is particularly rampant in poorer countries. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the EU have pledged support. A huge breakthrough would be a vaccination against cancer – with this goal Türeci and Sahin once started. A flu vaccine based on mRNA would also be conceivable.

However, other pharmaceutical giants have now also recognized the potential of mRNA vaccines. The French drug manufacturer Sanofi wants to get into the business. The vaccine from the Tübingen vaccine manufacturer CureVac did not prove to be very effective in initial studies and has not yet been approved. However, according to its own information, CureVac could offer better protection for other Corona variants. And even the BioNTech partner Pfizer has announced that it will not go all the way together. In projects against other pathogens and viruses, it is also possible to develop mRNA vaccines alone, according to the United States.

Big head start

The competition is on BioNTech’s heels. But the great experience, the high liquidity and possible patents give the Mainz company a big head start. Pharmaceutical experts particularly appreciate the foresight of the Mainz people; The company started a study for corona vaccines in children very early on.

In addition, the manufacturer has applied for approval for a third booster vaccination from the American and European drug authorities. According to BioNTech, a third vaccination is likely to be needed after six to twelve months to maintain protection. Again BioNTech could sell hundreds of millions of vaccine doses. But the USA probably only wants to vaccinate people with an immunodeficiency the third time. The WHO has also appealed to industrialized countries to wait with a refresher for healthy people until more people in other regions of the world have received their first injection. BioNTech and Pfizer are selling 500 million cans in the US at cost – these are then to be distributed to poorer countries.