Pfizer slashes stake in COVID vaccine partner BioNTech

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(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it sold a part of its stake in German drugmaker BioNTech SE, more than five years after both firms formed an alliance that yielded a vaccine to combat the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. drugmaker cut its stake by 54.7%, leaving the company with roughly 1.66 million sponsored American Depositary Shares of BioNTech, valued at about $163.5 million as of September 30, a regulatory filing showed.

This marks a strategic shift after Pfizer and BioNTech began their partnership in 2018, collaborating on the development of mRNA-based influenza vaccines.

A spokesperson for BioNTech confirmed earlier on Thursday, when asked to comment on the stake sale, that its collaboration with Pfizer has not changed.

Their relationship intensified in early 2020 as the COVID pandemic unfolded, when the two companies joined forces to create the world’s first authorized mRNA vaccine for the respiratory disease. The vaccine, marketed as Comirnaty, generated annual sales of $37.8 billion at its peak in 2022.

The tie-up resulted in Pfizer gaining access to an unprecedented influx of cash to indulge in a deal-making spree, including the $43 billion buyout of cancer drug specialist Seagen, sickle cell disease drugmaker Global Blood Therapeutics, and pain management drugmaker Biohaven.

Pfizer is now focusing on revving up its pipeline as CEO Albert Bourla sets his sights on an extra $20 billion in revenue by 2030 and a looming patent cliff for some of its best-selling drugs. The drugmaker has also closed its up to $10 billion acquisition of Metsera earlier in the day, gaining a foothold in the fast-growing obesity market.

Meanwhile, following the pandemic BioNTech shifted its focus to different areas of research, such as cancer, using the cash it acquired to fund research.

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Vallari Srivastava; Editing by Alan Barona and Rashmi Aich)