Germany-based coronavirus vaccine developer and producer BioNTech reported a whopping 10.3 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in profits in 2021, skyrocketing from 15.2 million euros ($17 million) the year before.
The development of the vaccine, developed together with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the first approved to counter the virus, had had a "momentous impact on human health and the global economy," BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin said in a statement.
The company delivered 2.6 billion doses of the "Comirnaty" vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in 2021, pulling in revenues of 19 billion euros in the process.
BioNTech projects vaccine revenues in 2022 to reach between 13 billion and 17 billion euros, and aims to pump up to 1.5 billion euros into research and development. Signed orders for 2022 deliveries were now at 2.4 billion doses, the firm said.
An omicron-specific vaccine is currently in the works, while the pharmaceutical company also looks to develop treatments for malaria and tuberculosis among other diseases.
The rise of the small biotech company has had a measurable impact on the German economy, with economists estimating earlier this year that the company accounted for "around 0.5% of all economic activity" in 2021.
Its revenues also translated into a significant boost to the government's own coffers, with BioNTech paying 4.8 billion euros in tax in 2021, according to the company.
BioNTech said it would launch a 1.5 billion euro share buy-back program over the next two years and pay out a cash dividend of 2 euros per share.
