European Commission wraps up CureVac COVID-19 vaccine supply deal

Europeans set to benefit from the EC's authorization of COVID-19 candidate vaccine supply agreement, securing up to 405 million doses of CVnCoV

Earlier this year, the EC — along with the European Investment Bank — provided funding to CureVac to support the development of the vaccine.

If and when the mRNA vaccine is proven to be effective and safe, the contract will provide every member state of the European Union with up to 225 million doses and includes the option for an additional purchase of 180 million doses.

In a statement, the EC's President von der Leyen said this agreement is the fifth contract with a pharmaceutical company for its COVID-19 vaccine portfolio. She also highlighted that they are working on a sixth one, with Moderna.

CureVac will receive an upfront payment to support the advanced clinical development of CVnCoV and the current ramp-up of its manufacturing network, as well as market launch and supply preparations.

The biopharmaceutical company is currently expanding manufacturing capacities for the large-scale manufacturing of CVnCoV. Vaccine doses are expected to be produced both at CureVac’s in-house, GMP-certified manufacturing site in Germany and across a broad European manufacturing network.

“CureVac is leveraging 20 years of expertise in mRNA technology to develop a COVID-19 vaccine that can contribute to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and to potentially allow all of us to return to an unrestricted life,” said Dr Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of CureVac.

Phase I interim data reported in November 2020 showed that CVnCoV was generally well tolerated across all tested doses and induced strong antibody responses. The company plans to initiate the pivotal Phase IIb/III clinical study before end of 2020.