BioNTech SE is accelerating the development of new products as sales of its COVID-19 vaccine continue to decline.

The company's stock fell sharply during early trading after it announced that its co-founders will be stepping down and provided a full-year revenue forecast for 2026 that fell short of market expectations.

In Tuesday's early session, BioNTech shares dropped 20.8%.

The Germany-based, Nasdaq-listed biotech firm stated that CEO Ugur Sahin and Chief Medical Officer Ozlem Tureci will leave their positions by the end of this year to establish a new biotechnology startup focused on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. This transition comes as several of BioNTech's investigational drugs are advancing toward potential market approval.

The company noted that its supervisory board has begun a search for new leadership to succeed the departing executives.

Sahin and Tureci co-founded BioNTech in 2008 and rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic through their collaboration with Pfizer to develop a widely used mRNA-based vaccine.

With COVID-19 vaccine sales continuing to shrink, BioNTech is intensifying efforts to advance its pipeline of new product candidates. The company expects to have 15 late-stage clinical trials in oncology—its core business focus prior to the pandemic—by year-end, with the goal of becoming a multi-product company by 2030.

BioNTech plans to provide mRNA technology and related rights to the new company founded by its co-founders in exchange for a minority equity stake, along with milestone payments and sales royalties.

The new venture will operate with independent resources, management, and financing, allowing both companies to focus on their respective strategic priorities.

BioNTech also indicated that it anticipates lower COVID-19 vaccine revenue in 2026 compared to 2025, due to declining demand in the U.S. and European markets.

The company projected full-year 2026 revenue in the range of €2.0 billion to €2.3 billion (approximately $2.33 billion to $2.68 billion), with adjusted research and development expenses expected to be between €2.2 billion and €2.5 billion.

This outlook falls below the average analyst estimate of €2.69 billion for 2026, according to a survey by Visible Alpha.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, BioNTech reported revenue of €907.4 million, down from €1.19 billion a year earlier, as demand for its COVID-19 vaccine weakened. The company swung to a net loss of €305 million, compared to a net profit of €259.5 million in the same period the previous year.