The news: BioNTech is buying cancer vaccine researcher and one-time COVID-19 vaccine rival CureVac in a $1.25 billion all-stock deal. 

What’s driving it: BioNTech is best known for its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, via a partnership with Pfizer. 

However, with the downturn in sales, it shifted to focus on its cancer portfolio.

• The German-based drugmaker is tapping its cash pile from the COVID-19 vaccine, valued at €15.9 billion ($14 billion) in May, to advance its more than 10 cancer drug and vaccine candidates.

BioNTech inked an $11 billion deal with Bristol Myers Squibb last week to commercialize a promising immunotherapy cancer drug combination now in phase 3 trials.CureVac also shifted to oncology after its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate flopped, moving into cancer vaccine R&D.

Zooming out: Both BioNTech and Moderna reaped financial windfalls from developing the first mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, now taken by millions of people around the world. 

However, BioNTech’s pivot to cancer is a stark contrast to Moderna’s ongoing bets on COVID-19 and mainstream vaccines. Moderna is now caught in the Trump administration’s double whammy of health agency cost cuts and vaccine skepticism. 

• The HHS cancelled Moderna’s $760 federal contract to develop pandemic vaccines, 
• Moderna agreed to run additional placebo-controlled studies of its new COVID-19 vaccine under new FDA vaccine trial rules.

The takeaway: The new HHS is taking a less-than-positive view on mainstream vaccines and mRNA technology, but it’s also signaled strong interest in personalized medicines and novel therapies. That’s good news for BioNTech, and could be a sign to other pharmas and biotechs that precision and specialty drugs are poised for fast tracking, while vaccines that got caught up in public and political controversy will be over scrutinized and delayed to market.

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