BioNTech SE – ADR (NASDAQ:BNTX), the German biotechnology company, which has developed one of the most widely sold Covid-19 vaccines with Pfizer Inc., stock fell 5.20% (As on August 9, 11:43:41 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported a profit of 1.67 billion euros ($1.70 billion), down from EUR2.79 billion during the same period a year earlier. Total product sales were €3.2B compared to €3.9B consensus. COGS increased to 24% sequentially (up from 20% in 1Q) due to a ~€400M write-off, the transition of manufacturing capacity to variant specific boosters and the consolidation of the CMO network. The company ended 2Q with cash of €9.3B and trade receivables of €10.4B which the company expects to turn into cash in the next 1-2 quarters
The company reiterated BioNTech COVID-19 2022 vaccine revenue guidance of between €13 billion and €17 billion (~2.5Bbn doses). Mgt. expects revenue phasing to be more heavily weighted to 4Q vs 3Q as Omicron-adapted boosters begin to ship. The company expects 3Q to be lower than 2Q and 4Q to be more similar to 1Q. Overall, BA.4/5 regulatory approvals, PCV data in 1H23 and potential cash deployment remain the key drivers of BNTX.
On the other hand, in June, the company broke ground and began construction of the first BioNTainer mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility on the African continent in Kigali, Rwanda. The site will manufacture a range of mRNA-based vaccines to address the needs of the African Union member states. This potentially includes the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as investigational malaria and tuberculosis vaccine candidates that the company expects to advance into the clinic in the coming months. The company has signed a new equal share of cost and profit collaboration agreement with Genmab for the joint development of an antibody targeting CD27.
This expands the company’s existing strategic collaboration for developing next-generation immune checkpoint modulators. There are several positive developments in the oncology pipeline. Positive data from an investigator-initiated phase 1 study of BNT122, the IMS product candidate partnered with Genentech, were reported at the 2022 ASCO meeting with encouraging signs of immunogenicity and disease control in patients with resected pancreatic cancers. The company has recently initiated two more clinical trials.
Moreover, the company has recently signed a new agreement with the U.S. government to supply an additional 105 million COVID vaccine doses with an option for the U.S. to purchase up to an additional 195 million doses. The 2022 order book now includes approximately 2.5 billion doses.