German vaccine maker BioNTech looks to mRNA cancer therapies

German vaccine developer BioNTech said on Monday it was working on therapies to cure cancer as it reported revenue of €17.3 billion ($18.6 billion) for 2022 from its headquarters in the western city of Mainz.
The company, which gained international renown for developing a vaccine against Covid-19 based on its novel mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) technology, said the figure was down from the almost €19 billion recorded in 2021.
Net profits came in at €9.4 billion, down from €10.3 billion posted in 2021.
Looking ahead, the company predicted turnover of around €5 billion from its Covid-19 vaccine over 2023.
During 2021, BioNTech and its US partner Pfizer supplied more than 2.6 billion doses of the vaccine. That figure fell to around 2 billion last year.
Apart from vaccines against the coronavirus, BioNTech is developing approaches in immunotherapy based on mRNA to combat infectious and autoimmune diseases, as well as cancer.
It plans to set up a marketing organization in the United States, the European Union and other regions this year and next for future products in treating cancer.
Total investment in research and development this year is expected to be between €2.4 billion and €2.6 billion.
Profits will also be used in a share buyback programme, with BioNTech seeking permission for up to half a billion euros up to the end of this year.