09/14/2021 | CureVac AG | News

CureVac Streamlines European Network for mRNA Product Manufacturing

  • CureVac right-sizes manufacturing network to adapt to changes in vaccine peak demands
  • Demand reassessed for first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, currently under regulatory review with EMA
  • Contracts with manufacturing partners WACKER and Celonic terminated; Rentschler Biopharma and Novartis contracts unaffected

TÜBINGEN, Germany / BOSTON, USA – September 14, 2021

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced its strategic decision to adjust the long-term footprint of the external European manufacturing network for its mRNA product pipeline. The decision was made in response to the reduced short-term peak demand for vaccines following the first wave of the pandemic vaccination efforts and corresponding changes in the demand of its first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, currently under regulatory review with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). As a result, the existing contracts with WACKER for the manufacturing of the mRNA drug substance of CVnCoV and Celonic for the manufacturing and formulation of the mRNA drug substance of CVnCoV will be terminated. CureVac’s existing agreements with Rentschler Biopharma and Novartis for mRNA production and formulation are unaffected by this adjustment and remain in place. Streamlining of capacity does not limit availability of clinical trial material for CV2CoV, the second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate jointly developed with GSK, expected to enter the clinic in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“The continuous increase in mRNA manufacturing capacity together with the progress of large-scale vaccination efforts have strongly changed the demand for our first-generation COVID-19 vaccine, CVnCoV, over the last months,” said Dr. Malte Greune, Chief Operating Officer of CureVac. “The development from a very high, short-term pandemic demand to broader availability of vaccines has led us to re-evaluate our immediate manufacturing capacity requirements in order to align the capacity with actual commercial and clinical capacity needs for CVnCoV. We would like to thank both our manufacturing partners for their dedication and effort in achieving our common goal to combat the pandemic with this key technology.”

CureVac first announced the build-up of its broad external European manufacturing network in November 2020, next to the ongoing expansion of large in-house clinical and commercial manufacturing capacities. Since then, several manufacturing agreements were made with highly experienced Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization partners for each of the key manufacturing steps for CVnCoV. The agreements with WACKER and Celonic were cancelled within the agreed contractual termination provisions. The parties agreed not to disclose financial details of the cancellation.

About CureVac

CureVac is a global biopharmaceutical company in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, with more than 20 years of expertise in developing and optimizing the versatile biological molecule for medical purposes. The principle of CureVac’s proprietary technology is the use of optimized mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce its own proteins capable of fighting a broad range of diseases. In July 2020, CureVac entered in a collaboration with GSK to jointly develop new products in prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases based on CureVac’s second-generation mRNA technology. In February 2021, this collaboration was extended to the development of second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Based on its proprietary technology, CureVac has built a deep clinical pipeline across the areas of prophylactic vaccines, cancer therapies, antibody therapies, and the treatment of rare diseases. CureVac had its initial public offering on the New York Nasdaq in August 2020. It is headquartered in Tübingen, Germany, and employs more than 700 people at its sites in Tübingen, Frankfurt, and Boston, USA. Further information can be found at www.curevac.com.

CureVac Investor Relations Contakt

Dr. Sarah Fakih
Vice President Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
CureVac AG, Tübingen, Deutschland
T +49 7071 9883-1298
M +49 160 – 90496949
sarah.fakih@curevac.com

CureVac Media Contacts

Anna Kamilli
Manager Communications
CureVac AG, Tübingen, Deutschland
T +49 7071 9883-1684
anna.kamilli@curevac.com

Bettina Jödicke-Braas
Manager Communications
CureVac AG, Tübingen, Deutschland
T +49 7071 9883-1087
bettina.joedicke-braas@curevac.com

Source:
https://www.curevac.com/en/2021/09/14/curevac-streamlines-european-network-for-mrna-product-manufacturing/