BioNTech to close three factories in Germany

German pharmaceutical giant BioNTech, which became known around the world as the company that developed the coronavirus vaccine, plans to close three of its factories in Germany — affecting 1,800 jobs.

The Mainz-based company announced today that it will close its units in the cities of Tübingen, Marburg and Idar-Oberstein, after no buyer was found to take them over.

The Tübingen plant will close at the end of 2027, Marburg’s in early 2028 and Idar-Oberstein’s at the end of 2028.

BioNTech, together with US company Pfizer, was the first company to receive approval to sell the Covid-19 vaccine, earning billions of dollars.

The company became world-famous, but demand for Covid-19 vaccines has fallen for several years and BioNTech has brought no other product to market.

BioNTech explained in its announcement that its failure to sell the factories is mainly due to the current difficult market and investment climate.

To ensure the closures are carried out in a socially responsible manner, additional redundancy terms have been agreed with the company’s works council, the company said in the announcement.

BioNTech, which employs around 7,200 people worldwide, has been going through a transformation and restructuring process for several years. Research is underway on a wide range of new products, particularly in oncology.

The company is also focusing on mRNA-based immunotherapies and the combined use of antibodies and drugs. The goal is to use antibodies for more targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs to cancer cells.

All of this costs a lot of money, and BioNTech has suffered significant losses. In the first half of this year, net results showed a loss of €1.35 billion.

In addition, the company’s chief executives and founders, Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Turecci, will leave the company by the end of the year to dedicate themselves to developing the next generation of mRNA-based drugs at a new company.