The market for modern weight-loss and metabolic drugs remains in motion. With the acquisition of obesity specialist Metsera, Pfizer has just sent a strong signal to the industry, reigniting competition in the multi-billion-dollar GLP-1 segment. The deal once again shows that major pharmaceutical players are willing to invest heavily to secure access to innovative compounds. For the smaller company Bachem, a strategic supplier of such complex molecules, this opens up long-term opportunities - especially as the company is currently making massive investments in additional production capacity.
Alongside these industry developments, an important internal topic is also coming into focus at Bachem: an upcoming leadership change. Early next year, Anne-Kathrin Stoller will take over from Thomas Meier as CEO. The long-time Bachem manager, who most recently headed the U.S. business, will have to guide the company through a phase of operational ramp-up while maintaining credibility for its ambitious growth targets. A key task will be ensuring the smooth start-up of the new large-scale facilities at the company’s headquarters in Bubendorf, as well as expanding capacity overseas and at the Eiken site.
Operationally, things are going well: in the first half of 2025, revenue climbed to CHF 313 million, an increase of around 30% year-on-year. The EBITDA margin improved significantly to 29.1%. Approved active ingredients and development projects contributed most to this growth, while research chemicals declined slightly. At the same time, the contract manufacturer of active ingredients - particularly peptides and oligonucleotides - is investing heavily. Between January and June alone, more than CHF 129 million was spent on new production capacities. The central large-scale project, the “Building K” facility, is progressing on schedule and is expected to begin production in the second half of the year. This additional capacity is seen as a prerequisite for the targeted surge in revenue starting in 2026.
The market for GLP-based therapies is currently one of the biggest growth drivers in the global pharmaceutical industry - both a major opportunity and a challenge. On the positive side, there is sustained strong demand for production volumes and complex peptide chemistry. As mentioned, Bachem is positioning itself here through targeted investments in large-scale plants. However, there are risks: the hype around weight-loss drugs has cooled somewhat recently. At the same time, major manufacturers like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are investing heavily in their own production facilities. Nevertheless, the role of CDMO partners such as Bachem is likely to remain central to ensure flexibility and supply security - an argument the incoming CEO Stoller has already emphasized.
Bachem’s confidence is also reflected in its ambitious goals. For 2025, the company expects revenue growth of 13% to 18% and an EBITDA margin in the high twenties. For the following year, management is targeting revenue exceeding CHF 1 billion and a margin above 30%. To achieve this, more than CHF 400 million will be invested this year alone. New facilities in Switzerland and the U.S., along with operational improvements, form the foundation of this growth strategy. Analysts expect the profit engine to really kick in from 2026 onward, with earnings per share projected to rise by more than half that year and by around one-fifth the year after.
On the capital markets, however, the positive outlook has yet to be reflected. Over the past year, the share price has lost around one-third of its value. Investors have recently been unsettled mainly by delays in capacity expansion. But if Stoller succeeds in ramping up production smoothly and confirming the growth story, investor confidence could return.
For investors, now could be the perfect time to optimize returns. The new softcallable barrier reverse convertible (BRC) can turn even a stabilization at current levels into cash returns. The CHF-denominated BRC offers an annual yield of 8.2% with a maximum term of 18 months. On the downside, the partial protection product leaves plenty of room for the underlying stock: the barrier is set at 59% of the initial value. The BRC also includes a softcallable feature, which can trigger early redemption for the first time after six months.
Risk-tolerant investors can also bet on rising or falling prices of this Swiss small-cap stock and thus pursue above-average returns. In total, Leonteq offers more than 22 leveraged products on Bachem, including both call and put warrants with various strike prices and maturities extending to September 2026.
We look forward to answering all of your questions about our products and how they are traded. Please don't hesitate to get in touch! Phone: 058 800 11 11, email info@leonteq.com or contact us here.