BioNTech Launches Malaria Vaccine Project

BioNTech (BNTX) wants to bring a mRNA vaccine to the fight against malaria. The company aims to develop the world’s first mRNA-based malaria vaccine. BioNTech teamed up with Pfizer (PFE) to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. It says the malaria vaccine project is an extension of its work on the COVID-19 vaccine.

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“The response to the pandemic has shown that science and innovation can transform people’s lives when all key stakeholders work together towards a common goal,” said BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin.

The company will evaluate multiple vaccine candidates and select the most promising one to advance to clinical trials by the end of 2022. BioNTech’s CEO said that the company would do its best to develop an mRNA malaria vaccine that is both safe and effective.

229 million malaria cases were recorded globally in 2019, and the disease ended up killing more than 400,000 people that year, according to WHO figures. The majority of malaria cases and deaths were recorded in Africa.

As it develops a malaria vaccine, BioNTech is also considering setting up vaccine manufacturing sites in Africa. The company is working with the WHO and Africa CDC for vaccine production across Africa. BioNTech aims to develop vaccines for other infectious diseases beyond malaria. For example, a Tuberculosis vaccine candidate is expected to enter clinical trials next year. (See BioNTech stock charts on TipRanks).

Wolfe Research analyst Andrew Galler recently initiated coverage of BioNTech stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $248. Galler’s price target suggests 13.37% downside potential. The analyst cited BioNTech’s COVID-19 opportunity and cancer efforts for his bullish outlook.

Consensus among analysts is a Hold based on 3 Buys, 5 Holds, and 1 Sell. The average BioNTech price target of $196.88 implies 31.22% downside potential from current levels.

BNTX scores a 9 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock has strong potential to outperform market expectations.