Krebs was the first candidate on the hit list of the Mainz biotechnology company BioNTech, which was founded in 2008 and was relatively unknown until 2020.
With the help of new, individualized immunotherapies, including those based on the use of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), the primary aim was to put an end to skin cancer.
The company's website continues to suggest a strong focus on cancer therapies.
In the further program BioNTech leads the fight against the flu, HIV, malaria and other infectious and rare diseases.
Many of the therapies are still in the trial phase. However, the success of BioNTech's approach has been proven since the end of 2020. The company stepped onto the world stage with the development of a highly effective vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, even if the foreign sales partner Pfizer is more popular. A few months before the outbreak of the pandemic, in October 2019, BioNTech also entered the trading floor on the Nasdaq. Back then, the share was issued for $ 15 and was still considered an insider tip with growth potential by observers. Few could have guessed that this would unfold in less than two years. In early August, the stock was trading at $ 463.67, an increase of nearly 3,000 percent. As of September 7th, the stock was still valued at $ 334.30 and market capitalization was 81,08 billion dollars.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the BioNTech share price has been closely linked to the success of the corona vaccine Comirnaty. Announcements about the efficiency of the active ingredient, the first emergency approvals and supply contracts with a large number of countries drove the course up bit by bit. At the end of March 2021, the company presented its financial statements for the 2020 pandemic year - underscoring its success. In 2020 BioNTech had sales of 482 million euros, compared to 109 million euros in the previous year. The bottom line was that the Mainz-based company generated a profit of 15 million euros, while a loss of 179 million euros remained for 2019.
The half-year figures were published in mid-August and the previous success was once again overshadowed. Sales of € 7.357 billion in the first six months of the year alone are compared to € 69 million in the same period of the previous year 2020. The profit was 3.915 billion euros, of which 2.787 billion in the second quarter. In the first half of 2020 BioNTech made a loss of 142 million euros. In parallel with the profit development, the share price also rose to its previous high between April and July. While the stock was still around $ 110 on April 1, it hit the $ 315 mark at the end of the quarter. The largest competitor of BioNTech, the American drug manufacturer Moderna, which relies purely on mRNA technology, has converted around 5,Generates 3 billion euros in sales and a profit of 2.4 billion euros.
Analysts are divided for the time being
The pandemic, the rapid development of an effective vaccine and the approval in many countries as the first agent against infection with the virus or against severe disease were certainly exceptional circumstances for BioNTech.
So are such business figures sustainable?
Analysts are skeptical.
While sales are expected to grow to 17.3 billion euros in 2022, they are already predicting a decline to 10.8 billion euros in 2023.
In 2024, 4.6 billion euros should then remain.
The assessments of the share are correspondingly cautious.
Out of 14 analysts who monitor the stock, four recommend buying, eight are neutral and two recommend selling the stock.
Confidence looks different.
Much of the neutral mood can be explained by the biotech company's previous dependence on a single product. Deliveries of an estimated 2.1 billion doses of vaccine in 2021 and more in the following years should now be priced into the share price. Sales in the mass market of China could give another boost, but is currently failing due to a lack of approval. In the further course it becomes important how to proceed with booster vaccinations. Many states and people are still struggling with themselves here. Should the virus become a constant companion of mankind and the annual corona vaccination should achieve a status similar to that of the influenza vaccination, fewer and fewer people will probably use it until only the most vulnerable groups ask for a regular refresher.
In order not to be completely dependent on the vaccine, there are other products that BioNTech is developing. In the semi-annual report, the group announced clinical trials with an influenza vaccine for the third quarter of 2021. A first active ingredient against malaria is to be tested at the end of 2022. And the actual core concern of the company, cancer, is accompanied by 18 ongoing test series. If one of these areas is successful again, there is great potential for BioNTech to establish itself as a fixture in the biotech sector and not only produce panacea for some of the most serious diseases of mankind, but also prove to be a panacea for the equity portfolio.