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BioNTech to Close Plants and Shift COVID Vaccine Production to Pfizer, Putting Up to 1,860 Jobs at Risk

The overhaul redirects cash from shrinking COVID sales to cancer drug development after deep quarterly losses.

Overview

  • BioNTech, which unveiled the restructuring Tuesday, will wind down production in Marburg and Idar‑Oberstein in Germany, at former CureVac locations including Tübingen, and in Singapore by the end of 2027.
  • The company will stop making COVID‑19 shots in Germany, with the last batches produced this year, and Pfizer will handle all manufacturing in Europe and the United States.
  • Management targets about €500 million in yearly savings from 2029 to fund oncology research and launches, after first‑quarter revenue fell to €118.1 million and the net loss widened to €531.9 million.
  • Works councils and the IG BCE union vowed to fight the closures, and CureVac founder Ingmar Hoerr accused BioNTech of misleading stakeholders over the takeover, a claim reported by media and not proven.
  • In the most immediate fallout, CureVac staff in Tübingen and Wiesbaden were offered end‑of‑year severance deals, with local representatives saying about 750 people face losing their jobs.