BioNTech reaches one billion vaccine doses shipped

Pharmaceutical manufacturer BioNTech has reaped the rewards of its COVID-19 vaccine development program after a resurgence of novel coronavirus variants increased demand for jabs and related products.

In its second quarter update, the German company said that, as of last month, more than one billion doses of its vaccine, developed with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer of the United States, had been supplied.

It said agreements have been signed for around 2.2 billion doses this year, and expects the vaccine to generate annual sales of 15.9 billion euros ($18.7 billion), having previously forecast 12.4 billion euros. It said it expects annual manufacturing capacity to reach 3 billion doses by the end of the year.

Vaccines manufactured by BioNTech/Pfizer and US producer Moderna are the only two that use messenger RNA technology. Demand for their vaccines has increased since some trials showed mRNA shots are more effective than rival jabs that contain either viral proteins or an inactivated virus.

In the three months to the end of June, the strong demand for the BioNTech vaccine led to total revenue rising up to around 5.3 billion euros, from 41.7 million euros last year. It reported a net profit of 2.79 billion euros, up from a loss of 88.3 million euros.

Ugur Sahin, chief executive and co-founder of BioNTech, said: "We and our partner Pfizer have crossed the one billion mark for COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped worldwide. We are proud to have reached this great milestone after only six months and made a difference for people with our proprietary mRNA technology."

He added that to address the ongoing pandemic, the company was expanding the supply of its COVID-19 vaccine to more than 100 countries and regions worldwide.

The rapidly-spreading delta variant has become the most dominant strain of the virus in Europe, and its impact is now considered "the key downside risk to the region's economic recovery", reported The Daily Telegraph.

It said economic indicators have suggested the recovery was suffering a "summer lull", and experts warned that the region's rebound may have peaked.

Meanwhile, despite the impact of claims related to the pandemic, regional insurer Allianz Asia Pacific has stated a 37 percent rise in its half-year operating profit, reported the Financial Times.

"In the past six months, Allianz Asia Pacific has seen a significant increase in claims paid to customers and families directly impacted by COVID-19, particularly in Indonesia," said Solmaz Altin, regional chief executive.

The company implemented a digitalization program before the pandemic struck, which Altin said "enabled us to protect and safeguard the way we deliver solutions to our customers".