CureVac launches Phase 1 study for next-gen mRNA COVID-19 vaccine 

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq:CVAC) and its partner GSK (NYSE:GSK) have launched a Phase 1 dose-escalation study to test the performance of CV2CoV, a COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on CureVac’s second-generation mRNA backbone.

In late morning trading, CureVac’s stock ticked up 0.10% to $19.22.

CVAC shares were trading above $100 before announcing in mid-June 2021 that the interim vaccine efficacy of its first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 47% in a Phase 2b/3 study.

Tübingen, Germany–based CureVac believes that its second-generation mRNA  could prove to be broadly efficacious against SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens.

Nature published a preclinical study involving cynomolgus macaques last year, indicating that the immunogenicity of CV2CoV was superior to its first-generation vaccine candidate, CVnCoV. The paper concluded that CV2CoV was “comparably immunogenic to the BNT162b2 (Pfizer) vaccine in macaques.”

The dose of the CV2CoV vaccine…

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Bayer abandons plans to produce first-generation CureVac vaccine

Bayer (ETR:BAYN) had planned to retool a facility in Wuppertal, Germany, to produce CureVac’s (NSDQ:CVAC) COVID-19 vaccine. But Leverkusen, Germany–headquartered Bayer has put those plans on ice, according to the German paper Leverkusener Anzeiger.

Bayer had planned on producing 160 million doses of the vaccine annually.

In June, CureVac reported that its COVID-19 vaccine was 48% efficacious in an international Phase 2b/3 study focused on various age groups. Despite having lower efficacy than the mRNA vaccines from rivals Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, CureVac had assumed in July that it would receive marketing authorization to distribute the vaccine in Europe.

The company announced it would withdraw its first-generation vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, from regulatory review at the European Medicines Agency. CureVac also canceled an existing advanced purchase agreement with the European Commission related to the CVnCoV vaccine.

Earlier this week, CureVac…

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