Six years ago an almost unknown German biotech company changed the course of the pandemic by developing the first approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. BioNTech, which had spent more than a decade advancing mRNA for cancer with little commercial interest, partnered with Pfizer to deliver Comirnaty in record time and became a global success story.
Today the Mainz-based firm faces a stark reversal. BioNTech announced it will close production sites in Germany and Singapore, risking around 1,860 jobs, after reporting a €532 million net quarterly loss. Founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci plan to depart by year’s end to launch a new venture focused on next-generation mRNA, heightening investor concern.
The company’s troubles reflect the predictable end of a temporary COVID windfall that generated tens of billions of euros since late 2020. With pandemic vaccine demand collapsing, BioNTech’s first-quarter 2026 revenue fell to €118 million, down 35% from a year earlier. The firm said it expects lower COVID-19 vaccine revenues in 2026 compared with 2025 and will shift all COVID manufacturing to Pfizer to cut costs.
Analysts say BioNTech overbuilt production capacity during the boom and now faces idle plants. The firm also benefited from substantial German state support for both its cancer research and the accelerated vaccine program, underscoring how one blockbuster product had come to dominate the company’s fortunes. By closing some facilities and handing vaccine production to Pfizer, BioNTech expects to save about €500 million a year by 2029.
Controversy has followed BioNTech’s strategic moves. In December 2025 it bought rival CureVac for $1.25 billion (€1.06 billion), acquiring patents and ending ongoing litigation that had accused Comirnaty of infringing CureVac’s mRNA patents. Yet when BioNTech announced restructuring, the former CureVac plant in Tübingen was among those slated for closure, prompting fierce criticism. Tübingen’s mayor accused the company of a “buy first, then kill” approach; the IG BCE trade union called the move a “planned slash-and-burn approach” driven by short-term financial motives; and local chambers warned that valuable technological know-how and skilled staff risk being lost.
The departures of Sahin and Türeci raise further questions about BioNTech’s future. The founders were the driving scientific force behind the company; shares fell roughly 18% after they announced their exit. Investors and analysts have asked whether BioNTech can sustain its innovative edge without their translational and clinical insight. The company says it will retain a small stake in the new startup the founders are launching.
BioNTech is pivoting toward its original long-term aim: applying mRNA to cancer. It is advancing late-stage mRNA treatments in partnerships, including programs with Bristol Myers Squibb for breast, lung and other cancers. The firm told investors it expects to have about 15 pivotal Phase 3 cancer trials underway by year-end, making upcoming clinical readouts critical for its future.
As it cuts COVID manufacturing and restructures, BioNTech is attempting to transform from a pandemic-era vaccine powerhouse into a diversified oncology-focused biotech. Whether that transition succeeds — and whether Germany’s biotech ecosystem can retain the talent and capacity affected by recent closures — remains to be seen.
Edited by: Tim Rooks