- BioNTech transfers COVID-19 vaccine production to Pfizer
- Cutbacks come after co-founders announced departures to start new venture
- Company plans $1 billion share buyback, cost cuts, reaffirms R&D budget
- Shares fall 6.1%
FRANKFURT, May 5 (Reuters) - BioNTech said on Tuesday it would close sites affecting up to 1,860 jobs and buy back up to $1 billion worth of its shares, as the COVID‑19 vaccine maker pivots away from pandemic-era manufacturing and prepares for a leadership transition.
The German company, which reported on Tuesday that it fell further into the red in the first quarter, said it would close sites in Idar-Oberstein, Marburg and Tuebingen, Germany, as well as in Singapore. The closures are part of a production transfer of its COVID-19 vaccine to partner Pfizer this year.
BioNTech shares were down 6.1% after its results and announcement of plant closures.
BioNTech, the initial inventor of the Western world's most commonly used immunisation shot during the pandemic, said in March that its two co-founders would leave by the end of this year to start a new venture.
After years of deals and hiring for a deeper development pipeline and a commercial build-up, CEO Ugur Sahin and Chief Medical Officer Oezlem Tuereci, the married couple behind the success, said at the time they would strike out on their own to pursue early drug research.
The exit from Idar-Oberstein, Marburg, and Tuebingen is planned by the end of 2027, while operations in Singapore are expected to end during the first quarter of 2027, the statement said.
For each site, BioNTech is exploring options including a partial or total sale, it added.
It acquired operations in Tuebingen as part of the takeover of domestic peer CureVac for about $1.25 billion, agreed in June last year.
BioNTech also said it would ramp up cost-cutting, potentially reaching about 500 million euros ($584.50 million) in annual savings in 2029.
Based on BioNTech's staff of about 8,400, about 22% would be affected by job cuts, predominantly in Germany.
In March last year, BioNTech unveiled plans to cut between 950 and 1,350 positions until 2027 and it was not immediately clear how many jobs have already been cut.
The company, which had 16.7 billion euros in cash and financial securities as of March 31, will also repurchase up to $1 billion of its shares over the next 12 months.
It reported a first-quarter net loss of 532 million euros, compared with a loss of 416 million in the year-earlier period.
The group reaffirmed a 2026 research and development budget of 2.2 billion to 2.5 billion euros.
($1 = 0.8554 euros)
Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger, editing by Linda Pasquini and Susan Fenton
Source: Reuters