Lawsuits pile up against BioNTech over alleged COVID jab side effects - report
Jens Schlueter
Update: Adds company statement.
BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) is facing hundreds of lawsuits seeking compensation of up to €1M over the alleged long-term side effects of its COVID-19 vaccine, the Financial Times reported.
The lawsuits pertain to Comirnaty, the blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine developed by BioNTech (BNTX) and Pfizer (PFE).
The first hearing scheduled for Monday involves a German medical worker who is seeking €150K (~$161.7K) in damages for symptoms including heart arrhythmia and brain fog that she claims were caused after getting vaccinated.
However, the hearing was postponed after the plaintiff's lawyer requested that the judge assigned be recused for bias and the case be heard by different judges, Reuters reported.
Bulk orders for COVID vaccines in the EU contain certain legal liability waivers, which could put EU governments on the hook for some of the costs.
In 2022, Comirnaty accounted for 58% of total COVID vaccine sales. Comirnaty generated $3.1B worldwide revenue during Q1, down ~77% Y/Y as contracted deliveries and demand in international markets fell.
"Comirnaty's benefit-risk assessment remains positive and the safety profile is well-characterized," a BioNTech (BNTX) spokesperson told Seeking Alpha, adding that more than 1.5B people worldwide and over 64M people in Germany received the vaccine.
"The cases assessed by BioNTech (BNTX) so far concern events that are either known adverse drug reactions or health impairments for which no vaccine-associated connection has been established. We assessed the health impairments described by the plaintiff and concluded that the lawsuit is without merit," they added.