Pfizer is selling a large part of its stake in its partner, BioNTech SE. This move ends a key financial link from their blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine alliance. The U.S. drugmaker is offering about 4.55 million shares of BioNTech. The sale is expected to raise around $508 million.
The two companies worked together in 2020 to create the highly successful COVID-19 vaccine. That partnership earned billions of dollars globally. The vaccine used BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology. The firms continue to collaborate on new vaccine formulas and share profits. However, Pfizer wants to shift its focus.
The company is working to replace falling COVID-19 sales. It recently agreed to buy the obesity startup Metsera Inc for $10 billion. Pfizer hopes this new focus will bring the next blockbuster drug. Meanwhile, BioNTech is focusing again on its original goal: developing cancer treatments.
It has already secured a large deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. This sale marks the end of a highly profitable chapter for both pharmaceutical giants.
