BioNTech, XPhyto Therapeutics, Snap Inc. - Tech falls, biotech gains

BioNTech - Business expansion through pediatric vaccines

The Corona pandemic is becoming an endemic situation, yet there are new recommendations for vaccination. This week, for example, the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) decided that all children between the ages of 5 and 11 can be vaccinated with one dose of the BioNTech vaccine. STIKO also recommends that those who have recovered should continue to be vaccinated. The group of experts around the RKI assume that even multiple infections are insufficient to protect against infection or severe illness caused by viral variants.

Fortunately, instead of recommendations and assumptions, there are still researchers who scientifically evaluate the degree of immunization. So far, three studies show that recovered individuals are better protected against re-infection. However, this refers only to the Delta variant.

BioNTech is expressing entrepreneurial optimism based on the studies it has collected in-house. "Our COVID-19 vaccine has been studied in thousands of children and adolescents. We are pleased that our formulation for the youngest children, which we carefully selected to be one-tenth the adult dose strength, was well tolerated and elicited a strong immune response," said Albert Bourla, Pfizer's chairman and chief executive officer.

"The study suggests that a low 3-inch dose of our vaccine, carefully selected based on tolerability data, provides infants with a high level of protection against recent COVID-19 strains," said Prof. Ugur Sahin, MD, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech. "We are preparing the appropriate documentation and expect to complete the submission process to the FDA this week, with submissions to the EMA and other regulatory agencies to follow in the coming weeks."

XPhyto Therapeutics - Single-use oral biosensors at the point of care

While antigen tests only moderately detect covid infection, biotech research is opening up some really passable solutions. Imagine you are out with colleagues or friends enjoying the nice weather and a BBQ. Two days later, you wake up with a cough, fever, headache, sore throat and aching limbs. Your antigen test shows nothing, but your symptoms speak a different language.

That is where Canadian biotech company XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. comes in. XPhyto Therapeutics Corp. is a diversified life sciences accelerator focused on investing in next-generation drug delivery, diagnostics and new pharmaceutical entities. Accelerators provide acceleration in the development process by bringing together the right partners and funds to develop high-value products. Together with Vektor Pharma GmbH and 3a, XPhyto has developed rapid test products with near-term commercialization potential. In the pipeline are rapid tests for pathogen screening at the point of care. These include bacterial and viral infectious diseases such as stomatitis, peri-implantitis, periodontitis, group A streptococcus and influenza A.

It allows either the patient at home or the treating physician in the office to achieve immediate certainty without poking around in the often hazy symptoms of colds. In collaboration with third-party European medical product marketing and distribution companies, XPhyto is now working to focus on and finalize its sales plan and prioritize its biosensor development pipeline to commercialize additional biosensor products for the European markets. For investors, this Company offers high potential to be in from the beginning.

Snap Inc. - Price slide of 31%, has the bottom been reached?

Investors in tech stocks must continue to be brave. Those who bet on growth stocks in previous years are currently being grounded. Between 2021 and 2022, the share price of social media service Snap Inc. regularly moved between EUR 65 and EUR 75. Today, it stands at around EUR 12. Since the end of April, "the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated further and faster than expected. As a result, we believe it is likely that we will be below the lower end of our Q2 2022 guidance range for revenue and adjusted EBITDA," the Company said in an official SEC filing.

Looking at the Company's debt, it is clear how the problems are compounded. The Company has a debt level of more than 10 years. That means borrowed money will have to be paid back with higher interest rates than when inflation was lower. The stock fell 31% after this announcement.

According to Reuters, CEO Evan Spiegel announced in a memo to his employees that the Company will cut back on recruitment this year. In addition, he cited a host of issues. "Like many companies, we continue to face rising inflation and interest rates, supply chain bottlenecks and labor disruptions, platform policy changes, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and much more," he wrote. What exactly Ukraine should have to do with Snap's growth is either known to insiders, or the Company should quickly develop new strategies to stabilize and further expand its growth. Investors should watch the bearish market in tech stocks calmly and implement their own money management tactics.

Although Mark Zuckerberg has his eye on Snap Inc. with his company, Meta, the venture remains independent. However, it remains questionable whether funny filter faces and advertising revenue will continue to be a lucrative business model.

With the STIKO recommendation and BioNTech partner Pfizer's efforts to have children worldwide vaccinated with one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, a short-term growth spurt may be on the horizon. However, BioNTech needs to adapt the vaccine to common variants. Moderna, for example, is working on a vaccine for monkeypox. With biotech stocks, it often takes patience for products to reach the market because they are subject to scientific studies. Things move faster with bioscience accelerator XPhyto Therapeutics. The Canadian/German joint venture is working hard to commercialize oral biosensors for detecting pathogens such as influenza A. Currently, the slide in the share price of a tech stock like Snap Inc. seems somewhat symptomatic - quarterly targets were not met, investors punished the share, and there was a 31% price slide. Investors looking to get in should take a very close look at their business model and debt levels.