Nov 13 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc ( PFE ) said on Thursday

that it sold 54.7% of its stake in German drugmaker BioNTech SE

, more than five years after both firms formed an

alliance that yielded a vaccine to combat the deadly COVID-19

pandemic.

This marks a strategic shift after Pfizer ( PFE ) and BioNTech began

their partnership in 2018, collaborating on the development of

mRNA-based influenza vaccines.

Their relationship intensified in early 2020 as the COVID

pandemic unfolded, when the two companies joined forces to

create the world's first authorized mRNA vaccine for the

respiratory disease.

The partnership's mRNA vaccine, marketed as Comirnaty,

generated annual sales of $37.8 billion at its peak in 2022.