BioNTech Lays Off 1,860, Launches $1B Buyback as Lung Cancer Data Steal the ASCO Spotlight

BioNTech slashes 1,860 jobs and closes sites to save €500M, while launching a $1B buyback and unveiling promising ASCO oncology data.

BioNTech is simultaneously dismantling its pandemic-era infrastructure and buying back its own shares — a stark illustration of a company straddling two very different chapters in its history. While the Mainz-based biotech has slashed thousands of jobs and shuttered manufacturing sites to save €500 million annually, it has also authorized a $1 billion buyback program covering 4.2% of outstanding equity. The contrasting moves reflect a management team desperate to convince investors that the transition from Covid-19 vaccine powerhouse to oncology specialist is on track — even as the stock wallows nearly 21% below its year-ago level.

The retrenchment is among the deepest in recent biotech history. BioNTech plans to close facilities in Idar-Oberstein, Marburg and Tübingen by the end of 2027, while a site in Singapore will shutter as early as 2027. A total of 1,860 employees are affected. The urgency is underscored by the first-quarter 2026 numbers: a net loss of €531.9 million on revenues of just €118.1 million, down from €182.8 million in the same period last year as the Comirnaty franchise with Pfizer continues to shrink. For the full year, management targets revenue of €2 billion to €2.3 billion. Only its Mainz headquarters will retain manufacturing capacity, reserved for future cancer therapies.

On the clinical front, the ASCO 2026 conference provided the most tangible evidence yet that BioNTech’s oncology pipeline has real substance. The company and partner Bristol Myers Squibb presented interim phase 2 data from the ROSETTA Lung-02 trial targeting advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The bispecific antibody Pumitamig, which blocks both PD-L1 and VEGF-A, delivered confirmed objective response rates of 57.1% in non-squamous patients and 68.4% in squamous patients. Among those with a tumor proportion score of 50% or higher, the response rate hit 100%, while the disease control rate across the entire evaluable cohort was also 100%. Safety data tempered the enthusiasm: grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 48.8% of patients, of which 23.3% were attributed to Pumitamig itself. Discontinuation due to side effects stood at 9.3% after a median follow-up of 9.0 months. Separately, BioNTech also highlighted Gotistobart, a late-stage candidate for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, which showed durable overall survival data in an oral presentation at ASCO.

Wall Street has taken notice, even if the share price has not yet caught up. UBS upgraded the stock to Buy with a $135 price target, while Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating after a 3.9% post-ASCO dip. The consensus among analysts stands at “Moderate Buy” with a mean target of roughly $130 (around €129.56). The $1 billion buyback — equivalent to $4.2% of shares outstanding — adds a tangible floor. Institutional investors have also begun building new positions, betting that the current valuation discounts too much execution risk. In euro terms, the stock trades at €78.40, nearly 23% below its 52-week high of €101.90 and about 5% lower year-to-date.

Yet the transformation is not without significant leadership transition risk. Co-founders Ugur Sahin, the CEO, and Özlem Türeci, the chief medical officer, have announced they will leave the company by year-end to launch a new venture. Their departure injects an additional variable into an already complex restructuring. Meanwhile, BioNTech has already launched seven separate phase 3 trials — including ROSETTA Lung-02, -201 and -202 — that will directly challenge entrenched standards like Merck’s Keytruda. But those pivotal results are not expected until the second half of the decade, leaving the stock in a prolonged period of suspense.

For now, BioNTech presents a study in contrasts: a company with a deep cash pile, a promising oncology pipeline, and a shareholder-friendly buyback, yet also one shedding its past identity through drastic workforce cuts and site closures. The market’s patience will be tested until the phase 3 data arrive. Until then, the gap between analyst price targets and the actual share price — a chasm of roughly €50 — remains the central narrative.