BioNTech Wields a Scalpel on Legacy Manufacturing to Fund Its Oncology Ambition

BioNTech ends COVID-era production, closing five sites by 2027, cutting up to 1,860 jobs, saving €500M annually to fund oncology pipeline. Stock rises 10% in month.

The German biotechnology group has drawn a definitive line under its pandemic-era identity. BioNTech is shedding five production sites across Germany, Berlin, and Singapore, cutting up to 1,860 jobs in the process, as it pours resources into cancer research. The move represents one of the most aggressive strategic pivots in the industry since COVID-19 vaccines became a commercial gold rush.

The three German plants in Marburg, Idar-Oberstein, and Tübingen will stop producing last batches in 2026 and close completely by the end of 2027. The Berlin subsidiary JPT Peptide Technologies and the Singapore facility will follow suit, with the Asian site shutting in early 2027. In a parallel shift, US partner Pfizer will take over all future manufacturing for the group, freeing BioNTech’s balance sheet from the heavy fixed costs of running its own network.

That financial discipline is already crystallising. Management expects annual savings of roughly €500 million from 2029, money that will flow directly into oncology research. The pipeline now includes more than 25 advanced clinical trials in that segment, and the company is betting that a sustained flow of data from those studies will eventually translate into market-ready therapies.

The first quarter of the current fiscal year, however, underscored the transition’s short-term pain. BioNTech posted a net loss of nearly €532 million, though it maintained its full-year revenue guidance of at least €2 billion. Broader industry headwinds are also at play: German healthcare reforms have spooked foreign investors, with Eli Lilly among those already scaling back investment in the country. BioNTech’s decision to abandon domestic production fits a wider pattern of pharma groups reassessing their exposure to Europe’s largest economy.

On the trading floor, the stock has been rewarded for the clarity of the new direction. The shares closed Friday at €84.30, a gain of roughly 10% over the past month. The price has pushed back above its 50-day moving average, and the next technical hurdle sits at the 200-day line of €85.35. A €1-billion-plus buyback programme is running until May 2027, providing an additional floor under the equity.

Market attention now turns to a potential buyer for some of the idled capacity. In a twist that highlights the still-fragile state of mRNA manufacturing demand, rival Moderna has expressed interest in taking over parts of the facilities. The US company prefers acquiring existing infrastructure rather than building new, an approach that would give BioNTech an immediate cash injection. An official update on the factory sales is expected alongside second-quarter results on 4 August, when management is also likely to disclose further progress on the oncology pipeline. A signed deal with Moderna before that date would cement the strategic shift and remove lingering uncertainty about the plant closures.