BioNTech’s decision to close its Singapore manufacturing facility reflects mounting financial pressure, ongoing restructuring efforts, and uncertainty around the pace at which next-generation mRNA therapies will scale.
BioNTech is set to shut its manufacturing facility in Singapore by the end of February 2027, the company confirmed.
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The decision marks the latest in a series of capacity reductions as the German biotechnology firm grapples with a steep drop in Covid-19 vaccine revenue, including recently
BioNTech acquired the Tuas Biomedical Park facility from Novartis in 2022, designating it as its regional headquarters and planning to build it out to produce several hundred million doses of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics annually.2
The site currently employs 85 people. The company says the closure follows a comprehensive review and reflects a decision to align manufacturing capacity with its clinical portfolio and long-term strategic direction.1
The announcement is paired alongside a period of significant financial pressure, as BioNTech reported modest revenue growth of approximately 4% for 2025, but has forecast a 25% revenue decline in 2026, driven primarily by falling Covid-19 vaccine sales in the U.S. and European markets.1
The Singapore closure adds to the series of job and cost cuts the company announced back in 2025 in an effort to save $3 billion in restructuring.
BioNTech is not alone in retreating from Singapore's biomedical manufacturing sector. Merck announced in March that it would close one of its manufacturing sites in Tuas, though the company declined to specify what the site produced or how many employees were affected.1
Merck has operated in Singapore since 1997 and has invested more than $2 billion in the country, where it employs more than 1,800 people across its remaining facilities.
Both closures reflect a wider recalibration across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry as post-pandemic dynamics reshape manufacturing priorities. Covid-19 vaccine demand has fallen sharply from pandemic peaks, while cancer vaccines and other novel therapeutics that were expected to fill mRNA manufacturing capacity remain largely in clinical development.
BioNTech's situation is further complicated by the announced departure of its founder couple, CEO Ugur Sahin and chief medical officer Ozlem Tureci, who are set to leave by the end of 2026 to establish a new company.1
Singapore has spent more than two decades building its biomedical sciences ecosystem into a significant economic pillar, accounting for 1.9% of GDP in 2024 and generating output exceeding $32 billion.1 The sector employs more than 26,000 people, and eight of the world's ten largest biopharma companies have manufacturing or R&D operations there.
Singapore's Economic Development Board said it is working closely with BioNTech and Merck, alongside Workforce Singapore and employment support agencies, to assist affected employees with job placements.
The EDB noted that while individual companies may adjust their global footprints, Singapore's biomedical sector continues to see strong overall growth, a signal that officials are keen to frame the closures as company-specific decisions rather than indicators of a broader retreat from the region.1
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