BioNTech announced on Apr. 3 that it will close its Singapore mRNA manufacturing facility by the end of February, less than four years after acquiring the site from Novartis. The company employs 85 people at the plant and had initially planned for the facility to be fully operational by late 2023, creating more than 100 jobs.
The closure comes as BioNTech seeks to align its production capacity with changes in its research and development pipeline and long-term strategic direction. Originally, the plant was intended to supply mRNA vaccines and therapeutics across the Asia-Pacific region, with potential expansions for other drug classes such as cell therapies.
However, BioNTech’s focus has shifted beyond mRNA technologies following declining vaccine sales and diversification of its R&D efforts. In recent years, regulatory changes have affected vaccine makers broadly; for example, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled around $500 million in contracts related to mRNA vaccine development last August. Piper Sandler analyst Ted Tenthoff said at a December event with Moderna: “Under the FDA and [Health Secretary] RFK Jr., it really feels like they’ve declared war on mRNA vaccines.”
The company reported €17.3 billion ($20 billion) in sales from Comirnaty—the COVID-19 vaccine developed with Pfizer—in 2022 but saw this figure drop to €2.9 billion ($3.3 billion) last year, with further declines expected this year as BioNTech and Pfizer recently halted a COVID-19 vaccine study due to slow enrollment.
Looking ahead, BioNTech is banking on growth outside of mRNA platforms through candidates such as anti-CTLA-4 antibody gotistobart, HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate BNT323, and PD-L1xVEGF-A bispecific BNT327. Meanwhile, founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci are leaving the company to start a new venture focused on mRNA technology.
BioNTech originally invested in Singapore after choosing an existing Novartis facility over building a new one from scratch; these investments contributed significantly to last year's capital expenditures totaling €307.1 million ($355 million), according to its latest annual report.
