Investors then delved into the data. BioNTech was founded in 2008 but had little to show for its work, some investors concluded. At that time, only 250 patients had been treated with the company’s vaccines. Others doubted that BioNTech was better than Moderna Inc., a rival using similar technology, whose stock was limping. In the end, investors decided that BioNTech could not justify the high value it was placing on its shares.
“They had a great pedigree, great investors, and great scientific founders,” said Jeffrey Jay, co-founder of Great Point Partners, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based healthcare private equity and hedge fund firm, which approved the IPO. “But I like to see more data.”
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After debating whether to eliminate the offer, Dr. Sahin and BioNTech reduced the price and size of the deal, raising $ 150 million, just over half of what they expected. Even with that, the stock landed with a thud on its first day of trading on October 10, 2019, dropping more than 5% to $ 14.24.
It has not mattered. After the coronavirus hit, the company began concentrating on developing a vaccine with Pfizer Inc., its partner since 2018 on a flu vaccine. Investors learned on Monday that early data showed their vaccine was more than 90% effective.
Now, BioNTech shares are trading at $ 101.63, an increase of 614% from the close of the first trading day last year. The company is worth more than $ 24 billion, a change of fortune in a year that is the last reminder of the biotech world, of party or famine.
“In biotechnology, when things start to get real, stocks can jump,” said Akash Tewari, an analyst at Wolfe Research, adding that BioNTech’s technology enabled it to respond quickly to the global pandemic.
BioNTech chose a difficult period to go public. Around the same time, the WeWork office rental company was collapsing and a trade dispute between the U.S. and China was heating up, overshadowing the markets. Other biotech stocks were feeling pressure.
It didn’t help that Dr. Sahin is more of a scientist than a salesperson. He publishes scientific articles and advises Ph.D. students even while running his company, and was reluctant to brag or make optimistic predictions to investors. Some members of his team felt that the soft-spoken executive was eager to resume his routine of cycling to his laboratory near the Roman ruins in the German city of Mainz.
Biotech specialists adored him, but he had a more difficult time with those who had no scientific training. Dr. Sahin was not as persuasive as Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, some said.
“Moderna had a graceful and fluid Harvard MBA as CEO,” said Great Point investor Dr. Jay. “BioNTech had a brilliant but discreet scientist who would cycle to work … the contrast between CEOs couldn’t be more pronounced.”
When the Covid-19 crisis hit, BioNTech still didn’t have any approved drugs. But it had more than 500 scientists focused on immunology, the study of the body’s immune system.
They were perfecting mRNA, the strategy of delivering genetic instructions that help the human body defend itself against viruses and other threats, such as cancer. In the case of coronavirus, cells are asked to produce a synthetic version of the spike protein that protrudes from the surface of the virus. The newly created spike protein teaches the immune system to mount a defense against a real virus when it infects the body.
A March 17 announcement that it would work with Pfizer on a Covid-19 vaccine sent BioNTech’s stock to more than $ 90, but they soon fell below $ 40. BioNTech and Pfizer were behind Moderna at the start of trials. with patients. But the two companies caught up and then approved Moderna, enrolling patients and conducting trials at a rapid pace, receiving the first results of their Phase 3 trials this week. Moderna results are expected shortly.
Now, some investors say, BioNTech’s stock price already reflects the potential success of its vaccine, the durability and safety of which have not been tested. Results are still awaited for elderly and immunosuppressed patients. There are huge manufacturing and logistical challenges for a vaccine that must be administered in extremely cold temperatures. Rivals’ shots can be more effective. Some investors warn that BioNTech and other stocks could suffer if the pandemic is repressed and vaccines provide long-lasting immunity, reducing the need for additional injections.
For its part, BioNTech says that while it focuses on the Covid-19 vaccine, it remains optimistic about its cancer research. “We look forward to getting to the other side of this crisis and we look forward to being part of those who make it possible,” the company said. “At the same time, the needs of cancer patients remain and we will use the experience we have gained in this effort to further develop. our cancer programs. “
Write Gregory Zuckerman at [email protected]
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