BioNTech Hands Roche the R&D Bill From 2027 as Analysts Pare Back Targets

BioNTech has moved to shift the cost burden of its joint programme with Roche/Genentech, disclosing on 3 November that research and development expenses for the collaboration will fall to Roche/Genentech as a general rule from 1 January 2027. Should the programme succeed, BioNTech would still collect licensing fees.

The arrangement surfaced alongside the company's third-quarter 2026 results, which landed the same day in a Form 6-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Those figures painted a split picture: profit in the quarter, a steep loss across the year to date.

Revenue slides as COVID demand fades

BioNTech booked revenue of EUR 1.29 billion in the third quarter of 2026, down from EUR 1.52 billion a year earlier. Management pinned the shortfall chiefly on weaker demand for COVID-19 vaccines. Adjusted diluted earnings per share fell to EUR 1.76 from EUR 3.11.

The bottom line stayed positive for the quarter, with an IFRS net profit of EUR 184.5 million. Over the first nine months of 2026, however, the company recorded an IFRS net loss of EUR 1.17 billion.

On the strength of the quarterly revenue trend, BioNTech lifted the floor of its full-year guidance. It now expects 2026 revenue of between EUR 1.7 billion and EUR 1.9 billion, up from a previous lower bound of EUR 1.6 billion. The upper end of EUR 1.9 billion is unchanged, which also raises the midpoint of the range.

Two banks trim targets, both keep buy ratings

Analysts responded to the update by marking down their price targets while leaving their recommendations intact. Tazeen Ahmad of Bank of America Securities cut her target to $108 from $114 on 4 November, according to media reports. The same day, UBS lowered its target to $125 from $135.

Bank of America flagged expected further declines in COVID-19 revenue but stressed that the vaccine business does not form part of its investment case. UBS's reassessment followed the quarterly report itself.

Breast cancer study and a restive workforce

Elsewhere in the pipeline, BioNTech announced a partnership with Gilead Sciences on 22 October to test pumitamig in combination with sacituzumab govitecan in certain forms of triple-negative breast cancer. The company said it will adapt the global Phase 3 ROSETTA Breast-01 trial for the effort.

Not all of the news flow came from the clinic or the income statement. Handelsblatt reported on 3 November that BioNTech's works council had criticised management's handling of employees during the company's restructuring, citing concerns over job security and what it described as stalled decision-making.