Germany-based BioNTech (BNTX 2.43%) saw its U.S. listed stock enjoy a mini-pop on Wednesday, and for once this wasn't largely based on the Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Pfizer. Rather, investors seemed to be cheered by the biotech's continuing efforts to harness artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Showing their approval, those market players pushed up BioNTech's stock by almost 4% on the day, easily beating the barely over 0.3% rise of the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.06%).
An eager adopter of cutting-edge tech
More than a few of those folks might not have realized that BioNTech owns and operates a subsidiary entirely dedicated to AI called InstaDeep. The company spotlighted InstaDeep's work in its Innovation Series, AI Day, held on Wednesday.
Image source: Getty Images.
BioNTech has been a longtime user of AI to help it develop new treatments for the market. In fact, the company quoted cofounder and CEO Uğur Şahin as claiming that BioNTech is "at the forefront of integrating advanced AI to revolutionize individualized medicine."
Şahin added that the biotech is harnessing AI to develop both vaccines, such as Comirnaty, and medicines.
BioNTech's technology might also find its way into other laboratories. It said that InstaDeep's DeepChain multiomics design platform has been made available for external partnerships.
Pfizer scores a pharma industry win
Outside of that, sentiment on BioNTech improved with news from the heart of the U.S. executive branch involving its major partner.
In what might be a harbinger for the broader pharmaceutical industry, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla signed a deal in which he agreed that his company would lower the prices of selected products for U.S. consumers. On top of that, Pfizer received a three-year break from potential drug tariffs after pledging to build new assets in the country.
Also, according to media reports, President Trump is delaying his planned rollout of those tariffs, which were scheduled to kick in on Wednesday.
