BioNTech’s Founders Exit Stage Left as $1 Billion Buyback Signals Confidence in Cancer Pipeline

BioNTech posts €531.9M net loss on falling COVID vaccine sales, but ramps R&D spending to €2.2-2.5B, betting on cancer drugs like Pumitamig and Gotistobart.

The numbers tell a story of transition at BioNTech. First-quarter revenue tumbled to €118.1 million from roughly €183 million a year earlier — a roughly 35% slide driven almost entirely by the fading COVID vaccine business, which partner Pfizer will fully take over by the end of 2026. The net loss widened to €531.9 million from €415.8 million in the prior-year period, translating to a per-share loss of $2.26. Analysts had braced for even worse.

Yet the Mainz-based biotech is not retreating. It is spending heavily to reshape itself. Research outlays jumped to €557 million, fueled by development of cancer drugs and antibody-drug conjugates, plus costs tied to last year’s acquisitions of BioNTech China and CureVac. The company expects full-year R&D spending of €2.2 billion to €2.5 billion — a figure that will handily exceed its revenue forecast of €2.0 billion to €2.3 billion, an unusual dynamic that underscores just how aggressively management is betting on the pipeline.

That pipeline now has a clear front-runner. BioNTech, in partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb, has launched five new pivotal studies for Pumitamig, an immunotherapy candidate targeting breast and lung cancers. Early Phase 1b/2a data in non-small cell lung cancer showed a 46% response rate, median progression-free survival of 13.6 months, and overall survival of 27 months. Another candidate, Gotistobart, has secured FDA orphan-drug status and reduced the risk of death by 54% versus the standard chemotherapy docetaxel in clinical trials; key Phase 3 readouts are expected by the end of 2026.

The company is also working with Boehringer Ingelheim on a combination therapy for small cell lung cancer. By 2030, BioNTech aims to deliver more than 17 late-stage clinical data packages.

All of this costs money, and BioNTech has plenty. The balance sheet held €16.8 billion in cash at the end of March. The board has now authorized a share buyback of up to $1 billion over the next 12 months — a clear signal that management considers the stock undervalued. The market was less convinced: shares closed Tuesday at €81.50, down roughly 4% on the day and more than 20% below their 52-week high of €101.90. The stock has slipped about 1% since the start of the year.

The restructuring also carries a physical toll. BioNTech will close production sites in Idar-Oberstein, Marburg, Tübingen and Singapore by the end of 2027, generating annual savings of roughly €500 million from 2029 onward.

But the most dramatic change is at the top. Founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci are expected to leave the executive board by the end of 2026 to launch a new mRNA venture. The supervisory board has begun searching for successors. The pair will remain major shareholders with a combined stake of roughly 15%, meaning their influence over strategic direction will not vanish entirely.

For now, the company is holding its 2026 revenue guidance steady at €2.0 billion to €2.3 billion. With six advanced studies expected to yield results this year, the next pivotal readouts for Pumitamig will test whether the oncology bet can justify the billions being poured into it. Some analysts see the stock reaching as high as $143, anchored on the long-term potential of the cancer pipeline.