BioNTech Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Gotistobart nearly doubled median overall survival to 18.5 months versus 10 months with docetaxel in an interim-stage squamous NSCLC analysis; the pivotal trial’s first interim analysis is expected before year-end.
  • Positive Sentiment: BioNTech reported encouraging early combination data for pumitamig plus Alpha-D in small-cell lung cancer, including a 92% response rate in first-line patients, and is planning potential registration-directed trials beginning in 2027.
  • Positive Sentiment: The company raised its 2026 revenue guidance midpoint to €1.8 billion, citing third-quarter revenue of €1.3 billion and €613 million from the BMS pumitamig partnership, while maintaining €16.2 billion in cash and investments and continuing share repurchases.
  • Negative Sentiment: The colorectal cancer trial of autogene cevumeran was discontinued after a numerical overall-survival imbalance, while the BNT113 head-and-neck cancer trial failed its first progression-free-survival endpoint and remains dependent on a future overall-survival readout.
  • Negative Sentiment: T-Pam met its progression-free-survival endpoint in HER2-low breast cancer, but the benefit was described as modest and interstitial lung disease was higher than in prior studies; BioNTech and DualityBio are still evaluating whether to pursue a regulatory submission.
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Earnings Conference Call
BioNTech Q3 2026
00:00 / 00:00

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Operator

Welcome to BioNTech's third quarter 2026 earnings call. I will now hand the call over to Doug Maffei, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Doug Maffei
Doug Maffei
VP of Investor Relations at BioNTech

Thank you, operator. Good morning and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining BioNTech's third quarter 2026 earnings call. As a reminder, the slides we will use during this call and the corresponding press release can be found in the investor section of our website. Please also note, we will refer to both IFRS and adjusted non-IFRS financials. Our earnings release materials include a reconciliation of the adjusted results to the most directly comparable measures based on IFRS accounting standards. On the next slide, you will see our forward-looking statements disclaimer. Additional information about these statements and other risks are described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Forward-looking statements on this call are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date of this conference call. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements.

Doug Maffei
Doug Maffei
VP of Investor Relations at BioNTech

On slide three, you can find the agenda for today's call. I am joined by the following members of BioNTech's management team: Uğur Şahin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Özlem Türeci, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder, and Ramón Zapata, Chief Financial Officer. Also available for the Q&A portion of the call is Annemarie Hanekamp, Chief Commercial Officer. With this, I will hand the call over to Uğur.

UÄŸur Åžahin
UÄŸur Åžahin
CEO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Thank you, Doug, and warm welcome to everyone joining us today. We have made good progress against our strategic milestones set out for 2026, reflecting our continued commitment to advancing our pipeline. First, we are accelerating the late-stage development of our oncology assets. At the World Conference on Lung Cancer in September, we presented updated overall survival data for gotistobart from the non-pivotal stage of our global phase III trial in patients with squamous non-small cell lung cancer who progressed on prior checkpoint inhibitor treatment. gotistobart nearly doubled median overall survival compared to standard-of-care chemotherapy. This is a setting where chemotherapy has remained the standard of care for more than a decade, and with gotistobart, we aim to provide a chemotherapy-free monotherapy for patients who progressed after first-line therapy. We are encouraged by the data, and the pivotal stage of the trial is ongoing.

UÄŸur Åžahin
UÄŸur Åžahin
CEO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Second, our combination therapy strategy continues to gain momentum. We recently entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Gilead to evaluate pumitamig in combination with their TROP2-directed antibody drug conjugate as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic PD-L1 low or negative triple-negative breast cancer. If approved by regulators, this would be the first phase III trial of pumitamig in combination with an antibody drug conjugate and an important milestone in advancing our combination therapy strategy towards registration. Third, we continue our shift from a platform-centric to a tumor-centric clinical development approach in cancers with the greatest unmet medical need. At World Conference on Lung Cancer, we presented the first global combination data for any anti-PD-L1 VEGF bispecific immunomodulator and an ADC in lung cancer.

UÄŸur Åžahin
UÄŸur Åžahin
CEO and Co-founder at BioNTech

This combination of pumitamig and LSD demonstrated encouraging early efficacy and manageable safety profile in small cell lung cancer across lines of treatment, including activity in first-line patients. These data are the signal-seeking evidence we set out to generate this year. The observed clinical responses are encouraging and speak to the potential of novel combinations in lifting survival curves. These data we have seen support our phase III registration and planning for pumitamig in combination with LSD. Looking ahead, BioNTech is well-positioned for the next phase of growth. With a growing pipeline of potentially registrational trials, strong partnerships, and financial strength, we are on track to become a diversified multi-product company by 2030. Our late-stage development program includes multiple pivotal trials with readouts to 2030 and beyond, spanning multiple tumor types and different lines of treatment.

UÄŸur Åžahin
UÄŸur Åžahin
CEO and Co-founder at BioNTech

As we announced last quarter, Guido Oelkers will take office as CEO by 1st February at latest. I am confident that he will bring in his valuable experience to continue advancing BioNTech's unique and strong pipeline. Management and supervisory board members have been actively engaged in supporting a seamless transition. We have built BioNTech from a startup into a global biopharmaceutical company with a strong foundation across next-generation immunomodulators, ADCs, and mRNA. We have also established a distinguished combination therapy strategy in oncology. At the heart of our work is a shared purpose: advancing medical innovation to improve patient lives. Our employees have been instrumental in bringing this purpose to life with their expertise, dedication, and commitment. It is their collective contribution that helps turn scientific discovery into meaningful progress for humanity and better outcomes for patients. We see significant potential in BioNTech.

UÄŸur Åžahin
UÄŸur Åžahin
CEO and Co-founder at BioNTech

As this will be my last earnings call, I would like to thank the many exceptional and dedicated BioNTech team members and leaders, the management and the supervisory board, our founding partners, shareholders, and collaborators. I would also like to thank the patients, investigators, and other healthcare professionals who have been contributing to our trials and our colleagues in the science community. Without all these contributors, none of this would have been possible. The impact we have created together to break through innovation for science, medicine, and patients is something I will look back on with deep gratitude. While we hand over the operational responsibility to our successors, Özlem and I will continue to follow BioNTech as founding shareholders. With this, I will hand over to Özlem.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Thank you, UÄŸur. I am glad to be speaking with everyone today. Our ambition at BioNTech is to address the full continuum of cancer care by exploring the synergies of immune modulators, ADCs, and mRNA cancer immunotherapies. We have defined a tumor-type-focused strategy to address unmet medical need in disease areas where our novel combinations can extend survival for patients. In the past two months, we presented data at key conferences for three of our leading product candidates: pumitamig, gotistobart, and Alpha-D. The data validate their potential clinical benefit across key tumor types, most notably in lung cancer. I will review the data and discuss how it is supportive of the lung cancer franchise BioNTech is building. Lung cancer is an area of high medical need, and we have a broad and diverse development approach to maximize our pipeline potential.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

At the core of our approach is pumitamig, a bispecific immunomodulator targeting PD-L1 and VEGF-A, being developed with our partner BMS across multiple tumor types. I will focus on non-small cell lung cancer first. We are running four registrational programs for pumitamig in combination with standard of care or monotherapy. In parallel to these registrational trials, we are generating novel combination data with our ADCs and our mRNA immunotherapies to inform the first wave of chemotherapy-free combination trials with registrational intent. Gotistobart is another key candidate of our non-small cell lung cancer strategy. As a reminder, gotistobart is a selective Treg-depleting antibody targeting CTLA-4, developed with OncoC4. We are advancing gotistobart through the pivotal stage of a global phase III trial in patients with metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer who progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitor treatment.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

This is a setting with very few effective options and poor prognosis, where median survival with current standard of care is less than one year. At the World Conference on Lung Cancer, we presented updated overall survival data from the non-pivotal initial part of this trial, with a median follow-up of 25.4 months. Median overall survival was 18.5 months with gotistobart versus 10 months with docetaxel, with a hazard ratio of 0.56. Gotistobart reduced the risk of death by 44% compared with chemotherapy. The observed safety profile of gotistobart was consistent with previous findings. These results reinforce the potential of gotistobart to provide a significant overall survival benefit as a chemotherapy-free monotherapy in this large, underserved patient population. In the pivotal part of the trial designed with identical protocol inclusion and exclusion criteria to stage I, we anticipate an interim analysis before year-end.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

This serves as an early data point ahead of the next pre-planned interim analysis next year. Turning to small cell lung cancer, where we are evaluating pumitamig in combination with chemotherapy, in combination with a DLL3 T-cell engager, and in combination with Alpha-D in front and later lines. Alpha-D is our B7-H3-targeted ADC developed with DualityBio. Alpha-D's clinical profile positions it as a potentially versatile oncology asset across a wide range of solid tumors. More than 1,000 patients have now been treated with Alpha-D across over 10 tumor types, including more than 500 patients treated with Alpha-D in combination with pumitamig. This was a global dataset from our phase I/II trial of pumitamig plus Alpha-D in patients with advanced small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. This combination brings together three independent mechanisms of action: checkpoint inhibition, VEGF-A neutralization, and the tumor cell-targeted cytotoxic payload of Alpha-D.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

In 71 patients with small cell lung cancer across 4 dose levels, the combination showed a remarkable 92% overall response rate in first line, 76% objective response rate in second line, and 52% objective response rate in third line and later. Importantly, we saw activity in patients previously treated with immunotherapy, with a 60% objective response rate, and in the small group of patients previously treated with a DLL3-targeted T-cell engager, with an encouraging 88% response rate. The safety profile was manageable and consistent with data from each agent individually, with limited overlap between pumitamig and Alpha-D-associated toxicities. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed, and the ILD rate for the combination was 2.9%. These combination data support our broader strategy of evaluating pumitamig as a potential backbone for combination regimens of complementary mechanisms.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

They will help to inform the clinical development strategy to address today's unmet need and tomorrow's evolving small cell lung cancer standard of care. These data we have seen in this trial will help guide our novel combination strategy in lung cancer into potential registration, with first trials expected to begin in 2027. In triple-negative breast cancer, our pumitamig plus ADC combination strategy is now entering the pivotal stage. At ESMO Breast in May, pumitamig in combination with a TROP2-targeted ADC showed a confirmed objective response rate of 76.7% and a disease control rate of 96.7% as first-line treatment in 30 patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. These data confirm that pumitamig combined with a TROP2 ADC has a manageable safety profile and warrant further investigation as first-line treatment. When we initiated ROSETTA Breast-01, chemotherapy was the only option for patients with PD-L1-negative advanced TNBC.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

However, in 2026, the standard of care for first-line TNBC changed following updated NCCN and ESMO guidelines, as well as the FDA approval of TROP2 ADCs. TROP2-targeted ADCs, such as sacituzumab govitecan, are quickly becoming the new standard of care. As a result of the evolving treatment landscape, we are adapting ROSETTA Breast-01 to replace chemotherapy with sacituzumab govitecan. We have entered into a clinical collaboration with Gilead. Pending the green light from regulators, this would be the first global phase III trial of our PD-L1/VEGF bispecific, pumitamig, in combination with an antibody-drug conjugate. Adapting ROSETTA Breast-01 to reflect the evolving standard of care gives the trial the best chance to inform clinical practice and ultimately treatment decisions for patients. Moving to mRNA cancer immunotherapies.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

As announced in August, the decision was made in alignment with Genentech to discontinue the phase II trial of autogene cevumeran as adjuvant monotherapy in ctDNA-positive stage II high-risk or stage III colorectal cancer. This decision followed a review from the independent data safety monitoring board in which they identified a numerical imbalance in overall survival between the treatment arms in this specific patient population and determined that continuing the trial was unlikely to change the efficacy outcome. No new safety signals were identified. The phase II IMcode003 trial in adjuvant pancreatic cancer, where autogene cevumeran is being evaluated in combination with atezolizumab and modified FOLFIRINOX, has completed enrollment and continues as planned. BNT113, our off-the-shelf mRNA immunotherapy, is being evaluated in a pivotal phase II/III trial in combination with pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab alone as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic HPV16-positive PD-L1-expressing head and neck cancer.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

In October, we announced top-line results from the first pre-specified interim analysis of AHEAD-MERIT. While the trial did not meet its first dual primary endpoint of progression-free survival, it is continuing as planned to assess the second dual primary endpoint of overall survival. The independent data monitoring committee recommended that the trial continue in accordance with the trial protocol. As immune-mediated anti-tumor effects build and deepen over time, the analysis of the overall survival endpoint will be critical to fully assess the potential of this approach to deliver durable benefit for patients with HPV-driven head and neck cancer. Under the trial's statistical design, which pre-specifies dual primary endpoints of PFS and OS, a statistically significant improvement in OS would establish a positive trial outcome, irrespective of the PFS result.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

BioNTech is leveraging novel combinations with next-generation IO, targeted therapies, and mRNA cancer immunotherapy to maximize pipeline potential and elevate outcomes for patients with solid tumors. The potential of mRNA cancer immunotherapies in combination regimens lies in their ability to induce immune responses that may translate into durable clinical benefit and ultimately prolong survival of patients. Let me now move to our other late-stage milestones. Recently, we announced that our global phase III trial evaluating T-Pam, an investigational HER2 ADC developed in collaboration with DualityBio in patients with HR-positive HER2-low metastatic breast cancer after endocrine therapy who are chemotherapy-naive, met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant yet modest improvement in progression-free survival. At this interim analysis for the secondary endpoint of overall survival, data were not mature.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

A higher rate of interstitial lung disease was reported in this trial compared to prior trials, with most cases being grade 1 and 2. Severe and fatal events were reported in a small proportion of patients. Otherwise, the overall safety profile was consistent with prior clinical trials, and no new safety signals were observed. The available efficacy and safety data as of this data cutoff date suggest that the potential benefit to patients would be limited in the context of the HR+, HER2-low metastatic breast cancer treatment landscape. We and DualityBio are currently discussing the totality of clinical data for trastuzumab pamirtecan across endometrial and breast cancer within the context of the evolving treatment landscape and areas of unmet medical need, and will determine the next steps. We and DualityBio are discussing plans for BLA submission and will update the markets accordingly.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Looking ahead, we are on track for the first interim analysis for gotistobart in squamous non-small cell lung cancer before year-end. This will be assessed by the IDMC to recommend whether to unblind the trial or continue to the next pre-planned interim analysis. Beyond the various late-stage readouts this year, we also further advanced our late-stage pipeline and initiated six phase III trials. In 2026, we published several datasets from our novel-novel programs with more to come. We executed these earlier combination trials to provide the signal-seeking evidence to inform and potentially de-risk the move of our combination trials into the pivotal stage. This provides the foundation for advancing BioNTech's growing late-stage oncology pipeline towards first approvals. With that, I would like to echo UÄŸur and thank our exceptional team at BioNTech for their conviction, for their loyalty, and dedication.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Building this company together has been an unforgettable experience, from the humble foundations to receiving approval of the first mRNA-based product, to creating the diversified oncology pipeline we have today. My thanks also go to our partners, investigators, regulators, healthcare professionals, and the patients and their families who have placed their trust in us. Turning the presentation over to our CFO, Ramón Zapata.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Thank you, Özlem, and welcome to everyone joining us. I will start with our third quarter and year-to-date 2026 financial results, then provide an update on our full year 2026 financial guidance and capital allocation highlights. Note that all figures are in euros unless otherwise stated. Beginning with financial performance. Revenues for the third quarter of 2026 were EUR 1.3 billion compared to EUR 1.5 billion in the prior year third quarter. This decline mainly reflects anticipated lower market demand for our COVID-19 vaccine. As expected, revenues of EUR 613 million were recognized in the quarter from our global strategic partnership with BMS related to the co-development and co-commercialization of our next-generation bispecific antibody candidate, pumitamig. Adjusted R&D expenses for the third quarter of 2026 increased to EUR 579 million from EUR 479 million in the prior year third quarter.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

The increase reflects greater investment in our prioritized IO and ADC programs, partially offset by lower spending outside of our strategic focus. On an IFRS basis, R&D expenses were EUR 748 million. The additional expenses of EUR 169 million include impairment losses related to intangible assets, which are outside of our strategic focus. SG&A expenses for the third quarter of 2026 on an adjusted and IFRS basis were EUR 179 million compared to EUR 149 million in the prior year third quarter. The increase was mainly driven by pre-launch activities for late-stage programs and the commercial buildup, as well as our ongoing global initiative to scale processes and ERP infrastructure to optimize operational execution. At the same time, we continue to realize meaningful savings from strategic pipeline prioritization execution and enhanced cost discipline across the organization.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Our strong financial position of EUR 16.2 billion in cash equivalents, and security investments at the end of the third quarter provides the foundation to advance our ambition of becoming a global multi-product biopharmaceutical company by 2030. Let's now turn from the third quarter to our nine-month year-to-date 2026 financials. Comparing this year's performance with the same nine-month period of the prior year, drivers are mostly in line with the factors I have described for the quarter. Revenues were EUR 1.5 billion for the year-to-date 2026 compared to EUR 2 billion in the prior year period. Adjusted R&D expenses were EUR 1.6 billion compared to EUR 1.5 billion. Adjusted SG&A expenses came in at EUR 527 million, up from EUR 407 million.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Overall, our year-to-date performance is aligned with our expectations. Our revenue performance in the third quarter allows us to raise the midpoint of our previously provided full year 2026 revenue guidance.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Our updated 2026 financial revenue guidance is now EUR 1.7 billion to EUR 1.9 billion. Our adjusted R&D and SG&A expense guidance for 2026 remains unchanged at EUR 2 billion to EUR 2.3 billion and EUR 700 million to EUR 800 million, respectively. I will now touch on our capital allocation strategy. Our approach remains centered on prioritizing investments towards our highest value opportunities, with a focus on advancing late-stage programs toward potential approvals and launches, while investing selectively in earlier stage innovation. This approach is designed to create diversified revenue streams and lay the foundation for a sustainable long-term oncology business. Our strong balance sheet provides us with the flexibility to complement our portfolio, strengthen our focus areas, and access external innovation where we see strong strategic alignments. At the same time, we continue to return capital to shareholders.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Since the implementation of the share buyback program in June, we have repurchased approximately 5 million shares through September 30th, reflecting our belief in the intrinsic value of BioNTech while maintaining full optionality to advance our pipeline, execute partnerships, and pursue corporate development opportunities. We remain focused on operational efficiency and disciplined resource allocation, optimizing our portfolio, manufacturing footprint, and cost structures to focus resources on our highest value priorities. This is reflected in our recently divested JPT Peptide Technologies business and ongoing manufacturing footprint consolidation, where we continue to assess other areas where we can elevate operational efficiency. We are also taking steps to simplify our AI operational model and strengthen its integration across BioNTech. We plan to integrate the expertise and capabilities of InstaDeep, our wholly owned AI and machine learning subsidiary, into BioNTech's core business.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

As part of this initiative, we expect to focus AI development on supporting our strategic objectives, operational processes, and innovation priorities. We believe this more integrated approach will reduce complexity and enable us to deploy AI more effectively. Our conviction in mRNA is anchored by over a decade of translational and clinical research, as well as deep experience in the field. We continue to advance mRNA cancer immunotherapies and invest in them as a key pillar of our oncology strategy, including novel combination approaches intended to maximize the potential of our diversified oncology pipeline. Irrespective of our conviction in the drug class as such, we assess and optimize the financial structure of our existing collaborations.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

We have exercised an option in the Roche/Genentech BioNTech collaboration agreement, under which future R&D costs for this program will be reassigned to Roche/Genentech, including assessing the candidate in adjuvant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, or PDAC. BioNTech will be eligible to receive royalties. The decision to exercise the option aligns with our broader capital allocation framework as we optimize operational efficiency. With this, we aim for an improved financial structure under the terms of the agreement, which does not affect our ongoing clinical program. This means the ongoing phase II clinical trial in PDAC continues as planned, and we are excited to see more data from this mRNA cancer immunotherapy program. Taken together, our strong financial position and disciplined capital allocation approach support our long-term objective of becoming a global multi-product company, addressing the unmet medical needs of cancer patients worldwide.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

We remain focused on prioritizing investments that advance our pipeline and support sustainable growth while preserving the financial flexibility to respond to evolving opportunities. Finally, discussions regarding Uğur and Özlem's new company and potential contributions from BioNTech remain ongoing. Any potential arrangement will be evaluated based on its strategic rationale and its ability to maximize value for patients and our shareholders. While there is an opportunity for a deal at this stage, it is optional for both parties and not a necessity. Before I close, since this is the last earnings call that we have with the co-founders of BioNTech, I would like to wish Uğur and Özlem all the best in their new venture. I also want to thank them personally for their vision, leadership, and extraordinary contributions. Together, they built BioNTech from a bold idea into a global pharmaceutical pioneer.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

They advanced science that has changed lives, helped patients around the world, and achieved a medical breakthrough which has entered the history books. We are deeply grateful for everything they have done for this company, and the foundation they leave is one we are proud to build on. With that, I will hand it back to the operator to open the call for questions. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Please limit yourself to one question only. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. Your first question comes from Akash Tewari from Jefferies. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Akash Tewari
Akash Tewari
Analyst at Jefferies

Hey, thanks so much. And Uğur and Özlem, really congrats on an amazing tenure at BioNTech. Two for you. One, is your team more confident on hitting on the first or second interim for gotistobart? I know in the prior data, there was kind of a late onset curve separation on OS. So, I would love to understand which one of these interims investors should be paying more attention to. And then, a bit on cancer vaccines. So, sounds like you're changing the economic agreement with Roche, but I think maybe stepping back, where does your team stand in terms of cancer vaccines, especially with the new management team coming forward?

Akash Tewari
Akash Tewari
Analyst at Jefferies

Do you think that we'll see a doubling down, potentially going into a precancerous earlier stage setting, trying different combination approaches? Or is the BioNTech vision really at this point focused on too many mRNA going forward? Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Akash, I can take the first question. We are very excited about gotistobart, and as you know, in the non-pivotal first part of the trial, we have seen and just recently reported a near doubling of median OS. We are waiting for the first interim analysis, which will happen this year. A second one will happen next year. I have to admit that the first one is early, so even though we are excited, we will not be disappointed if we cannot see a clear signal.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Thank you, Akash. I will take on the second part of your question that is related to mRNA and our commitment to it. What I would say is that the changes in the Genentech collaboration are mainly a resource allocation decision from us, as it will give us further flexibility to allocate resources to other priority programs in our pipeline. That by no means should be understood as a lack of commitment. We continue to be very excited about the PDAC program, are very much looking forward for its next milestones and readouts. In terms of the new management, I think it's a little bit premature to talk about what the priorities would be. What I can mention is that our current strategy, and one of the pillars of our current strategy is to continue to work in mRNA.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

We have the capabilities, we have the skills, and I believe the right to be a very strong participant in the market, so we continue to advance our BNT113 program, BNT116, PDAC with Genentech, and also some further efforts in early stage and innovating on our mRNA platform, be it FixVac, the off-the-shelf platform, or even the individualized vaccines.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question. Your question comes from Mohit Bansal from Wells Fargo. Please go ahead, your line is open.

Mohit Bansal
Mohit Bansal
Analyst at Wells Fargo

Great. Thank you very much for taking my question. Just wanted to understand a little bit about the cancer vaccine program. We are looking at both PDAC and colorectal cancer, and they both are relatively IO or less immunological diseases. Can you help us understand if there is any read-through from colorectal cancer to PDAC, and how should we think about your confidence in the personalized cancer therapy going forward here?

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Thank you, Mohit, for your question. I can give some background to how we see the read-through from colorectal cancer to PDAC. In principle, these are two different questions asked and two different experiments. It is correct that both are cold tumors and both are tumors with tumor mutational burden being more on the lower side. However, these are, on the one hand, entirely different tumor biologies, and also different settings of positioning the vaccine. What I mean with this is that in the colorectal cancer trial, we have used our vaccine in a monotherapy setting as an adjuvant vaccine. In the PDAC setting, it is integrated into chemotherapy and also combined with checkpoint inhibition.

Mohit Bansal
Mohit Bansal
Analyst at Wells Fargo

All right.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question. The question comes from Daina Graybosch from Leerink Partners. Please go ahead, your line is open.

Daina Graybosch
Daina Graybosch
Analyst at Leerink Partners

Hi. I also want to echo my gratitude and congratulations for your next steps for Uğur and Özlem. My question is on the TROP2 ADC. I wonder if you can tell us the status of your own TROP2 ADC, which you had previously licensed from DualityBio, and how are you thinking about combinations of pumitamig with TROP2 ADCs outside of TNBC? Are you looking at endometrial, where Gilead has an ongoing phase II trial? What about lung and other indications where competitors are combining their VEGF bispecifics, or planning to, with their TROP2 ADCs? Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Yes. Thank you, Daina, for your question. We see our ADC portfolio as a broader design space to combine with pumitamig, and we have for all of our ADCs, signal-seeking trials in combination with pumitamig ongoing across indication. This includes our TROP2 ADC, but also the others. We are now at a stage where we have a large body of data, and our approach is that we are assessing, not with a single ADC lens, but in fact comparing these different targeted ADCs for their potential to bring clinical benefit in different indications in combination with pumitamig. We will be able to be more concrete which ADC we want to further develop in which indication as a combination with pumitamig.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

Yeah. Thank you, Özlem, and this is Annemarie. I will just also add that in line with our strategy, what we shared before on pumitamig, we believe that this next-gen bispecific will be the backbone in different settings and cancer types, and that we're moving this ahead with our partner, BMS, in chemo combinations, but also, to your point, in combination with other assets, and ADCs are a core part of that. We're not only moving those forward with our own portfolio or BMS's, but also, as you've seen during our announcement at ESMO, moving that forward with, in this case, Gilead's ADC. So, we're closely monitoring the field. There's been some interesting data, including in lung cancer. If you look at our strategic priorities, we're definitely focused with multiple shots on goal in lung cancer, breast cancer, but also GI and GU cancer.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

We will continue to evaluate, follow the science, and then decide which asset is best combined with pumitamig, where we believe transformational benefits can be delivered on top of the chemo benefit that we're hoping to see in the first wave of combinations with pumitamig.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question. Your question comes from Tazeen Ahmad from Bank of America. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Tazeen Ahmad
Tazeen Ahmad
Analyst at Bank of America

Okay, great. Thanks for taking my question, and also my best to UÄŸur and Ozlem for all their contributions as well. Can I just get some clarification about whether you've had any meetings with FDA on the exact path forward for gotistobart? Would love to hear your thoughts on what to expect after you reveal the dataset that's coming up. On the Roche collaboration, I was just curious to know, you guys have a really strong balance sheet, so what's the real driver of wanting that expense to really be carried by them? Does that, in exchange, also give them more influence about the pace of development and which indications will go into development? Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

I can take the first question, Tazeen. With regard to gotistobart, we did not have so far detailed discussions with regulatory authorities. We have an understanding how the path forward would be, and we will further refine that on the totality of data we will see in part two of the trial, and we'll then engage with regulators.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Hi, Tazeen. In terms of the Roche collaboration, to be clear, the existing agreement remains in place, where we have done this exercise, a contractual option, where, as of January 1st, we will transition from a 50/50 cost-profit sharing to royalty-based economics. You're totally true. We are operating from a position of strength with the balance sheet and the cash that we currently have. However, we are also advancing a number of late-stage programs in a way that are now meaningfully needing investment. This is really and truly a capital allocation decision. We continue to retain potential royalty upside and transitional supply responsibilities to the PDAC program, and we continue with the excitement about that program. But we are now providing that financial flexibility to other pieces of our pipeline.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

So, that is pretty much the reason of why we have exercised this contractual option.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question. Your question is from David Dai from UBS. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

David Dai
David Dai
Analyst at UBS

Oh, great. Thanks for taking my questions. I want to add my congratulations to UÄŸur and Ozlem. Just on pumitamig, we have seen some pretty encouraging data, especially from global trials that seem to replicate the efficacy and safety profile of China trials. I am just curious, what are your latest thinking on the China global translation based on totality of data generated? How should we think about the efficacy and safety translation in the phase III pivotal trials in 2027 and onwards?

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

David, the question was what we are thinking about translation from China or regional into global. Did I get that right?

David Dai
David Dai
Analyst at UBS

Yes, that's right. Yes.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Yeah. I think the class as such, not only pumitamig, but also pumitamig has shown in several cases that there is translation from regional China data into global data. Our recent data packages, our datasets in TNBC and small cell lung cancer, for example, have shown that. So that we are, yeah, very confident that this is something we can rely on.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question, and the question is from Asad Haider from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Asad Haider
Asad Haider
Analyst at Goldman Sachs

Great. Thanks for taking the question, and congrats and best of luck to Uğur and Özlem. Maybe just going back to the cancer immunotherapy, asking it a little differently. There's now a validation in melanoma for mRNA cancer immunotherapy, and the market's rewarding innovation there. Just, are you going to shift your strategy to pursue the more validated approaches and tumor types? Just curious as to what tumor types and settings you would be prioritizing. If I may, on pumitamig, just with Summit's HARMONi-3 data approaching, would be interested in your latest thinking on how you're thinking about this readout as it relates to the read across to your own development strategy for pumitamig. Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

I can take the pumitamig question. I did not fully get which trial you were referring to. Could you repeat, Asad?

Asad Haider
Asad Haider
Analyst at Goldman Sachs

Yeah, sure. Just with the Summit's HARMONi-3 data approaching, just curious as to hear your latest thinking on what this readout means as it relates to the read across to your own development strategy. What are you looking for there? How should we be looking at that readout with respect to how you are thinking about your own development? Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Yes. Sorry, I did not get that you are referring to the HARMONi-3 trial. The HARMONi-3 trial is in the same class, so we will pay attention. It also is shared with our ROSETTA Lung-02 trial, that it is the same patient population and it is the same comparator. However, we have two very different studies here, right? They differ in the endpoints, in the sample size assumptions, in the statistical architecture, in stratification methods, trial types, and country mix. So we do not see that we have a clear read-through mechanism from HARMONi-3 to ROSETTA Lung-02, and irrespective of what we see there, we will stay committed to our study. I also have to say that everything we have seen so far and reported in the phase II part of this patient population is very encouraging.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

I can speak to the Genentech question on mRNA. I will repeat in part what Ramón shared during this call already, is that our strategy remains focused on mRNA. We see mRNA as a key pillar of our combination strategy. While our financial terms in the Genentech collaboration now maybe have changed slightly for the value optimization and capital allocation strategy that Ramón spoke to, the actual dynamics of the partnership have not changed. Any path we take forward with our mRNA candidates, BNT122, will be in collaboration with our partner, Genentech, there.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our next question. The question is from Jessica Fye from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Jessica Fye
Jessica Fye
Analyst at J.P. Morgan

Hey, guys. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I had a couple. I was hoping you could characterize enrollment progress for the pumitamig phase III's and touch on your latest expectations for data readouts. Then coming back to gotistobart, following up on one of the early questions, will you comment on whether the first interim hits one way or the other once it occurs? How do you think about the potential commercial opportunity for gotistobart in second-line squamous non-small cell? Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Jessica, the first question was about pumitamig readouts and timing for our pivotal studies. Did I get that right?

Jessica Fye
Jessica Fye
Analyst at J.P. Morgan

Yep. Yes, exactly.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Yeah. We have seven global pivotal studies ongoing by end of this year, and these trials are all event-driven, so we cannot predict the exact sequence and timing with confidence. What I would like to do is to point you to clinicaltrials.gov, where we have primary completion dates as posted based on the most current or recent data. According to those primary completion dates, we will see first-line TNBC in China data in 2027, then ROSETTA Lung-02 and ROSETTA Lung-01 around 2029, and then followed by RCC, CRC, HCC, and the other studies. However, the timing, as you know, can move as these studies mature, and dates may change. The company will update the market when they have enough visibility to do so responsibly. The second question was about, I think, commercial gotistobart positioning.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

Yes. Özlem, I can-

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

First question.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

Yeah. I can take that one. As Özlem already alluded to, we presented an update on the gotistobart non-pivotal part of our phase III study with impressive benefit for patients. As you may know that in this patient setting, for a long time, we haven't seen real improvements. Many shots on goal were tried, but many also failed to demonstrate improvement in overall survival. If the gotistobart part two of the pivotal trial confirms the benefit that we've seen to date, we believe it could address a meaningful patient population, again, where no innovation has been happening for a while. If you look at the current data, we would estimate around 55,000 patients in second-line squamous non-small cell lung cancer by 2030 in just the G7.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

With that context, we do view gotistobart as a key asset in our portfolio that can meaningfully contribute to building BioNTech in a multi-product company on the longer term.

Jessica Fye
Jessica Fye
Analyst at J.P. Morgan

Great. Thanks. If the first interim passes, would you comment on it one way or the other once that happens?

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

Yes, we would comment on it one way or another, as we have disclosed that we are expecting this readout. We would also expect if the IDMC would recommend the study to continue, as per Özlem’s earlier comments.

Jessica Fye
Jessica Fye
Analyst at J.P. Morgan

Great. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Cory Kasimov from Evercore ISI. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Cory Kasimov
Cory Kasimov
Analyst at Evercore ISI

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking the question, and congrats once again to Uğur and Özlem, and best of luck with the new endeavor. On the heels of the encouraging results with pumitamig plus Elfe-D at ESMO, what are the next steps for this combination, and what tumor types are you most interested in advancing? Then since others are asking multiple questions, a very quick one for you. If iNeST is ultimately successful, what level of royalty would you get from Roche under or post this option you exercised? Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

I can take the first question. Before I do that, I would like to thank everyone on the call, also on behalf of UÄŸur, for your kind words. It was really a pleasure to work with all of you over these years. Cory, you asked for our plans for Elfe-D plus pumitamig combinations and how we want to go ahead. Yes, we are also very excited about the data we presented for small cell lung cancer, and there is more to come because we have not fully analyzed the other tumor type cohorts, which are still running. We have not decided on a specific indication setting or timing for Elfe-D pumitamig pivotal trials yet. Our prioritization and decisions will be data-driven based on the large body of data we have produced over the last couple of months in the different indications.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

This will be part of our 2027 milestones, which we will disclose in a couple of months.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Thank you, Özlem. Hi, Cory. In relation to your question on iNeST, we are not providing specific royalty economics under this option. However, I mean, like, you know, all of this is dependent on successful development and then thereafter commercialization. So these are the tiering of royalties that we currently have. But this is as much as we can disclose at the moment.

Cory Kasimov
Cory Kasimov
Analyst at Evercore ISI

Okay. Understood. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Terence Flynn from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Terence Flynn
Terence Flynn
Analyst at Morgan Stanley

Great. Thanks for taking the question. It might be a little bit early, but Ramón, I was just wondering if you can comment broadly on how to think about 2027 numbers, both top and bottom line, just conceptually. Thank you.

Ramón Zapata
Ramón Zapata
CFO at BioNTech

Hi, Terence. It is a little bit premature to talk about 2027. We are currently working these plans, and we will update all of you at a later stage.

Operator

Thank you. One moment, please. Your next question comes from Simon Baker from Rothschild & Co Redburn. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Simon Baker
Simon Baker
Analyst at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Thank you for taking my question. Going back to iNeST and FixVac and the development plans, I am keen to get your thoughts on the recent paper in Cell that suggested the potential benefit on efficacy from adding chemotherapy, specifically carboplatin and Taxol. You do have chemo in some of these trials, but I just wondered what you thought about the utility and implications of that early work on future development plans for both iNeST and FixVac. Thanks so much.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Thank you, Simon, for your question. With which compounds we combine our vaccines depends really on the standard of care and backbone, which is used in the respective indication. The data you are quoting shows that combining with chemotherapy is, first of all, feasible, and in fact, can also improve the effect because it supports antigen spreading. We do not shy away, and you can see this in our PDAC study, for example, and also in our studies with BNT116, to combine with chemo where it makes sense from a standard of care and backbone point of view.

Simon Baker
Simon Baker
Analyst at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Great. Thanks so much.

Operator

Thank you. Your next question comes from Yaron Werber from TD Cowen. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Analyst at TD Cowen

Hey, this is Tina on for Yaron. I would like to also add my congrats to UÄŸur and Ozlem on an amazing tenure, and thanks for taking our questions. I just want to get your broader thoughts on your sense of late-stage pipeline and what you think of the most exciting asset beyond pumitamig and maybe gotistobart. Also, I know that you are in discussions with your partner on T-Pam, but if you will give us any more granularity on how the recent breast cancer results might impact your filing endometrial cancer and your thoughts for that pivotal registrational plans. Thank you so much.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

I did not get the question fully. I think one part of it was about what we find interesting in our pipeline or exciting beyond pumitamig and gotistobart. So, actually, all of our assets, pumitamig and gotistobart, are particularly exciting, and we have a large body of data which supports this excitement. However, we are also very excited about our ADCs, in particular also Elfe-D, because again, there, the excitement is supported by data, and which we see across tumors. What was the second question?

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

I can take that, Özlem.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Yeah.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

The second question is about T-Pam and potential filing. As Özlem already mentioned, we are discussing with DualityBio the totality of our clinical data for T-Pam, both across endometrial and breast cancer. We do that, of course, with the mind of making sure that we add both value for patients and shareholders alike. So, we are looking at the context of the evolving landscape, areas of unmet medical need, and then we determine next steps. Currently, we are discussing plans for a BLA submission, and we will update the markets accordingly.

Analyst at TD Cowen

All right. Thank you so much.

Operator

Thank you. We will take our final question, and the final question comes from Geoff Meacham from Citigroup. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Jarwei Fang
Jarwei Fang
Analyst at Citigroup

Hi, good morning. This is Jarwei on for Geoff Meacham. Thanks for taking our question. Maybe just a question on pumitamig. I know you guys are testing combinations across several ADCs, but emerging data sets differ maturity, tumor type, and partner assets. I am just wondering what criteria will determine which pumitamig combinations advance most aggressively, and where have the data increased or reduced your conviction so far? Thank you.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

I can take this question. Thank you very much. It is first of all, as we mentioned several times for BioNTech, really data-driven. We had a couple of phase I/II combination data sets out there together with our own ADC portfolio and mRNA portfolio. Also, BMS, our partner for pumitamig, is starting combination work, as well as we have several projects now running outside of both BMS's and BioNTech's pipeline. We will await the first data to determine both on safety and early efficacy which candidates and combinations we move forward. But like I mentioned in the previous question, we also continue to monitor the evolving landscape.

Annemarie Hanekamp
Annemarie Hanekamp
Chief Commercial Officer at BioNTech

The speed of the oncology development over the last decade is continue to accelerate, which is amazing news for patients, but also requires us as sponsors of study to make sure that by the time data reads out, we still address relevant unmet medical needs. It is a constant monitoring of what is evolving, what is in line with our strategy. As we said, we are focused on lung, breast, GI, and GU cancers, and then making sure that the data is in line with those expectations. All in all, to become a multi-product company by the time that we enter into 2030.

Jarwei Fang
Jarwei Fang
Analyst at Citigroup

Great. Thank you. Also to Uğur and Özlem, best of luck in your next venture. Thank you.

Özlem Türeci
Özlem Türeci
CMO and Co-founder at BioNTech

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's question and answer session and concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

Executives
    • Doug Maffei
      Doug Maffei
      VP of Investor Relations
    • UÄŸur Åžahin
      UÄŸur Åžahin
      CEO and Co-founder
    • Özlem Türeci
      Özlem Türeci
      CMO and Co-founder
    • Ramón Zapata
      Ramón Zapata
      CFO
    • Annemarie Hanekamp
      Annemarie Hanekamp
      Chief Commercial Officer
Analysts