Key Points German biotech BioNTech developed the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine candidate. Pfizer agreed to partner with BioNTech in March to further develop the investigational coronavirus vaccine. The next step for BioNTech and Pfizer is submitting their vaccine candidate for an Emergency Use Authorization. Our experts issued a rare "Double Down" Buy alert on this one stock... Learn more. A year ago, you might not have heard of BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX). Shares of the German biotech were trading at about $20 as it worked on investigational messenger RNA (mRNA) therapies for infectious diseases and various types of cancer. Since then, its shares have soared more than 350%, and the company has become a fixture in everyday conversation -- at least for those closely following the coronavirus vaccine race. That's because BioNTech is the developer behind Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) coronavirus vaccine candidate. BioNTech created the investigational product based on its mRNA technology. In March, the clinical-stage biotech company signed a co-development agreement with Pfizer, in which the two agreed to work together to bring a vaccine through trials and to market. Let's take a closer look at what's happened so far and what may be on the horizon. Image source: Getty Images. The power of mRNA BioNTech's investigational vaccine isn't like traditional vaccines. Instead of introducing weakened virus into the body, it uses the power of mRNA. The vaccine candidate's mRNA instructs the body to create a protein from the virus. The body's immune system then creates antibodies to this protein, and those antibodies eventually fight off potential infection. There are other companies in the race developing mRNA vaccines. The most noteworthy is Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), which shares the lead with the Pfizer/BioNTech team. So far, mRNA technology has proven to be a winning strategy. The investigational vaccines of BioNTech and Moderna have both produced positive clinical trial data. Most recently, BioNTech and Pfizer said that in an analysis of phase 3 data, their vaccine candidate was 95% effective in preventing COVID-19. The study enrolled more than 43,000 participants. The companies also said they've gathered the two months of follow-up safety data required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and they now plan to apply for the agency's EUA "within days." A potential EUA and/or an eventual approval could be big for BioNTech for two reasons. First, it will provide the company with its first marketed product. It has about 28 programs in the pipeline, but so far most of them are pre-clinical or in phase 1 studies. Only one program, a treatment for metastatic melanoma and solid tumors, is in phase 2 studies. So product revenue isn't right around the corner, unless regulators approve BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine. Technology that works And here's the second reason success of the coronavirus vaccine program is important: It would show that BioNTech's mRNA technology works in humans. This technology is used in most of the company's other pipeline programs, so a success here would suggest that the rest of BioNTech's treatment candidate will be effective. That could help the company land further partnerships with bigger biotechs or pharmaceutical companies and attract investment. The company's share gains this year reflect the optimism and excitement surrounding its coronavirus vaccine program. The stock is up more than 170% so far. At the same time, Pfizer is only up about 18% since it announced its partnership with BioNTech back in March. Like other clinical-stage biotech companies in the vaccine race, BioNTech's share performance has been guided by coronavirus vaccine news. In this case, it's been positive. Conversely, any potential negative news could be extremely damaging. Investors know that companies with many products on the market, such as Pfizer, won't depend on a potential coronavirus vaccine for revenue. That's why their shares aren't as reactive to related news. Will the company's stock market winning streak continue? The answer to that will depend on whether the FDA grants its potential vaccine an EUA. It also will depend on the vaccine's ability to capture market share. Considering the program's progress so far, it's likely BioNTech will continue to be a much-talked-about biotech stock for at least several months to come. 10 stocks we like better than BioNTech SEWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and BioNTech SE wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2020 Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source