In BioNTech’s search for a new CEO—following the announcement earlier Tuesday that Uğur Şahin, M.D., and his wife and CMO Özlem Türeci, M.D. will depart by the end of the year to establish a new start-up—the German company is seeking a new leader with “experience in late-stage development and commercial execution,” chief financial officer Ramon Zapata said in a quarterly conference call.
With several readouts of potential products expected by the end of this “catalyst-rich year,” according to the company, Sahin said that this is the “perfect timing for transition.”
Analysts from Leerink Partners agreed, calling the transition a “logical step,” in a note to investors.
While Şahin and Türeci’s new company will pioneer next-generation mRNA innovation, BioNTech will focus on late-stage execution and preparations for commercialization with the goal of becoming a “multi-product company by 2030,” it explained (PDF) in its Q4 presentation.
“This is a sound decision from a board and executive team that have made a series of excellent strategic decisions through and following the COVID pandemic,” Leerink added. “We are also excited about the innovation that professors Şahin and Türeci will be able to closely nurture in their third entrepreneurial start-up, combining novel mRNA technology with AI.”
The analysts asked in their note: “Can the company effectively iterate and expand their approach without their founders’ insight on translational and clinical data?” Investors seemed unsure. BioNTech’s share price dropped by 22% as the change-up “injects uncertainty into a stock under pressure to deliver on a portfolio of late-stage oncology assets,” Leerink wrote.
BioNTech and the as-of-yet unnamed company will, however, still be intertwined. In exchange for a minority stake in BioNTech, the new company will provide “related rights and mRNA technologies,” Sahin said, adding that the companies expect to sign a binding agreement by the end of the first half of this year.
BioNTech will not abandon the R&D focus on which the company was built.
“We will continue to innovate,” Zapata said during the call. “In BioNTech, we have our innovation engine in Germany, in China and in the U.S. and we will continue to deepen our pipeline in immunomodulators, ADCs and mRNA technologies.”
As for BioNTech’s finances, the company reported 2025 revenue of 2.9 billion euros ($3.3 billion) from sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, which were up 4%. In the fourth quarter, however, sales were 907 million euros ($1.02 billion), a 24% decline year-over-year decline.
This year, BioNTech is projecting revenue to between 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) and 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion), with adjusted R&D expenses between 2.2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) and 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion). The company began 2026 with $17.2 billion cash on hand.