BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Operator: We will now take our last question for today. And the last question comes from the line of Jessica Fye from JP Morgan.

Jessica Fye: Forgive me if this seems a bit redundant, but I just want to follow up on an earlier question or two. I just want to confirm that the comment that an anticipated update to the European contract has been factored into your numbers means that any apparent disconnect between the guidance you’re providing and that that Pfizer gave earlier this year is not solely driven by a disconnect on assumptions around gross profitability of the COVID vaccine business, but is also driven by just different overall revenue or assumed doses delivered? Thank you.

Ryan Richardson: So Jess, I’ll start, and Jen should jump in here. So we obviously work very closely with Pfizer on multiple levels in estimating market potential, estimating uptake of the vaccine, et cetera. There are a number of factors that do impact the two companies’ communications. It’s not only expectations around the EU contract. We also have different financial calendar years, which Jens can probably best speak to, which also may have an impact. I think also you have to differentiate between contracted doses, which I think is perhaps what you may be referring to in terms of the Pfizer disclosure and estimated revenue from full contracted doses versus our guidance today, which is based on our estimate — our best estimates of expected revenue for the year, which factors in — does factor into your point, some potential changes to the EU contract. I don’t know, Jens, would you?

Jens Holstein: Yes. No, you basically mentioned this, right. I mean, of course, we can’t comment on the way of Pfizer is communicating. They’ve done that while back, a few weeks back when they gave out their guidance. At that point in time as well as at our point in time today, there is no conclusion on how the contract with the European Union will look like. What sort of volumes we’re talking about, what sort of spread over several years we’re talking about or pricing or anything of this — this kind, every company got to do their own sort of guiding. I believe if you compare the figures, and I tried to explain that a little bit before, we’re not far away, actually. If you compare that, there is — if you really do the math, I think you come to the conclusion that Pfizer and ourselves in terms of that COVID business are very well aligned also in terms of the number that we have presented and Pfizer has presented.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.