German Pharma Investment Pullback Deepens: BioNTech to Close CureVac Site, Cutting 1,860 Jobs

BioNTech will shut CureVac's Tübingen site by 2026, cutting ~1,860 jobs amid German pharma investment pullback driven by planned healthcare reforms and regulatory uncertainty.

The wave of retrenchment sweeping Germany’s pharmaceutical sector has claimed its latest victim. BioNTech, the Mainz-based biotechnology group, will shut down the Tübingen facility of its subsidiary CureVac by the end of 2026, eliminating roughly two-thirds of the workforce there. The decision comes amid a broader industry retreat as companies point to regulatory uncertainty created by planned healthcare reforms.

The Tübingen closure represents only one piece of a larger cost-cutting puzzle. BioNTech is also exiting its German production sites in Idar-Oberstein and Marburg, along with a location in Singapore. Only administrative hubs in Mainz, Berlin and Munich will remain fully operational. COVID-19 vaccine production is being handed entirely to partner Pfizer. The company estimates the entire restructuring will eliminate up to 1,860 positions and generate annual savings of roughly €500 million by 2029, funds it plans to redirect into oncology research.

On the NASDAQ, BioNTech’s stock edged down slightly to $88.08 on June 6, 2026, reflecting investor scrutiny of the move.

For Tübingen, the job losses are particularly severe. The region offers few employers capable of absorbing the highly specialised talent that CureVac has cultivated. Heike Wagenaar, representing the works council, voiced sharp criticism of management’s approach. She stressed that adequate alternatives for the affected specialists are virtually non-existent in the area and accused executives of lacking willingness to cooperate on the tight timeline. BioNTech has pledged to handle the dismissals in a socially responsible manner.

A task force has been assembled to try to retain skilled workers in the region. It includes representatives from the state economic and science ministries, the Federal Employment Agency, the city of Tübingen and the regional development agency Biopro.

The CureVac shutdown does not stand alone. US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has slashed its planned investment in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate, from $2.5 billion to roughly half that amount. The original 1,000 jobs planned for the site will also be reduced, even though the shell of the building is already standing and operations were supposed to start in 2027. Meanwhile, Boehringer Ingelheim has scrapped €900 million in planned investments at its German sites that had been earmarked for the 2027–2030 period.

Industry experts see these cutbacks as a clear warning. Jasmina Kirchhoff of the German Economic Institute (IW) said the decisions signal growing unease among pharmaceutical companies about the country’s business climate.

The common thread is the planned reform of Germany’s statutory health insurance system, specifically the Contribution Rate Stabilisation Act. Companies argue that the proposed dynamic manufacturer discounts and higher rebate obligations create significant planning uncertainty. While some political figures have criticised the investment cuts as a negotiating tactic, the Federal Health Ministry maintains that Germany remains an attractive market and insists it will continue pursuing its national pharmaceutical strategy.