BioNTech marches on . . . 216 Sep 2019 12:31
''A potential problem with BioNTech is that its pipeline is less advanced than Moderna’s. Out of its 12 mRNA product candidates, seven of them are preclinical and only one, iNeST, is in phase 2 to treat melanoma. Moderna by contrast has 11 treatments in Phase 1 or beyond according to its website. It is reasonable to expect some if not all of BioNTech’s mRNA product candidates to fail, as they are early in the process and mRNA is still an experimental therapy. But the company has attracted attention and partners. BioNTech states that it has “seven pharmaceutical collaborators,” which include among others Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Bayer (OTCMKTS: BAYRY) and Genentech. Pfizer in particular struck a $425 million deal with BioNTech last year, which included a $120 million upfront payment. And according to Crunchbase, BioNTech has raised $686.2 million in three funding rounds compared to $1.8 billion for Moderna.
In summation, the early stage of BioNTech’s drug candidates is a concern. But the company is developing multiple treatments and has many collaborators which indicates that there is something here.
BioNTech’s Finances - An unusual facet of BioNTech’s finances is that it is a clinical-stage biotech company which has a substantial and growing revenue. BioNTech reported a revenue of €51.9 million for the first six months of 2019, up from €43.4 million over the same time period in 2018.
BioNTech emphasizes that “we have not generated any revenue from the sale of pharmaceutical products.” Instead, this revenue is derived from “the sale of diagnostic products, peptides, retroviral vectors for clinical supply, and development and manufacturing services.” BioNTech also counts the funds received from its collaborators like Pfizer as part of its revenue, and said funds make up the overwhelming majority of its total revenue.
Despite its revenue BioNTech is unprofitable like most clinical-stage IPOs, reporting an operating loss of €91.7 million in the first six months of 2019 and €53.8 million for all of 2018. Research and development expenses nearly doubled in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, which is a good thing that shows BioNTech is progressing in its research.
But while that is all good, the biggest problem for BioNTech is that it is burning through cash rapidly. BioNTech reported having €284.9 million in cash on June 30, 2019, down from €411.5 million on December 31, 2019. The result is a net cash loss of €126.6 million. BioNTech has had a positive cash flow in previous periods as it has been able to raise cash. But net cash lost in operating activities has continuously increased since 2017. As BioNTech is years away from developing its drugs, it will likely need to raise additional funds or issue stock in the future in order to keep operating. . . . . "
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