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CureVac

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CureVac AG[1]
Company typePrivate
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2000[2]
HeadquartersTübingen, Germany
Key people
Ingmar Hoerr (CEO)[3]
Number of employees
375[4]
Websitecurevac.com

CureVac is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Tübingen, Germany, that develops therapies based on messenger RNA (mRNA).[5] The main research primarily focuses on cancer immunotherapies and prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases.[6] Founded in 2000, CureVac has had about 240 employees in November 2015[7] and 375 in May 2018.[4]

Since inception, CureVac had received approximately $330 million (€300 million) in equity investments.[8] CureVac has entered into various collaborations with multinational corporations and organizations, including agreements with Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi Pasteur, Johnson & Johnson, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Eli Lilly and Company[9] and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.[10]

Technology

CureVac’s technology platform was developed in the late 1990s from the research conducted by Ingmar Hoerr and colleagues in the laboratories of Professor Hans-Georg Rammensee and Professor Günther Jung at University of Tübingen in Germany.[11] CureVac's technology platform utilizes natural, chemically unmodified mRNA, which studies have shown elicits great therapeutic responses.[12]

The basic principle of the company's proprietary technology is the use of mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce its own proteins capable of fighting a wide range of diseases.[13] Since 2008, CureVac has applied its mRNA technology in more than 350 humans in seven clinical trials in eleven countries, including an ongoing Phase IIb trial in prostate cancer.[14]

In 2006, CureVac successfully established the first GMP facility worldwide for the manufacturing of mRNA for medical purposes.[15] In 2016, CureVac has started the construction of an industrial scale production facility with a capacity of 30 million doses per year.[16][17]

Research

Researchers from CureVac published data in Nature Biotechnology in 2012, which highlighted an experimental RNA vaccine approach for longer protection from flu.[18]

In June 2015, CureVac announced that a study of its RNArt technology platform was published in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Therapy, demonstrating for the first time ever that sequence-optimized, chemically unmodified mRNAs raised relevant protein levels in non-human primates without stimulating unwanted immune reaction, indicating that mRNA achieves meaningful biological effects in large animals with body weight close to humans.[19] The study also suggested that sequence-optimized, unmodified mRNAs offer advantages when compared to chemically-modified mRNAs, including more efficacious protein translation.[20]

In July 2015, CureVac announced a publication in the peer-reviewed Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer highlighting a Phase I/IIa study of the company’s mRNA cancer immunotherapy CV9103 in advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer. The data showed the first Phase IIa clinical study in which an mRNA therapy has demonstrated antigen-specific immune responses in the majority of patients.[21]

History

In October 2013 Curevac launched a collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, for the development of novel flu vaccines.[22]

In November 2013, CureVac announced the fourth in a series of partnerships with the Cancer Research Institute and Ludwig Cancer Research to enable clinical testing of novel cancer immunotherapy treatment options.[23]

On March 10, 2014, CureVac won a €2 million prize awarded by the European Commission to stimulate new vaccine technologies that might help the developing world, because the company's research could lead to a new generation of vaccines that don't need refrigeration.[24]

In July 2014, CureVac signed an exclusive license agreement with Sanofi Pasteur to develop and commercialize an mRNA-based prophylactic vaccine.[25]

In September 2014 the company licensed the global rights for its Phase I candidate – CV9202 – to Boehringer Ingelheim. Boehringer plans to conduct trials using the mRNA vaccine in combination with afatinib in advanced and/or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as well as inoperable stage III NSCLC. This could culminate in netting the company approximately $600 million.[26]

In March 2015, CureVac’s investor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, agreed to provide separate funding for several projects to develop prophylactic vaccines based on CureVac’s proprietary mRNA platform.[27]

In September 2015, CureVac entered into a collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) to accelerate the development of AIDS vaccines, utilizing immunogens developed by IAVI and partners, delivered via CureVac’s mRNA technology.[28]

In September 2015, CureVac announced it would be opening a United States hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[29]

References

  1. ^ http://www.curevac.com/contact/
  2. ^ https://labiotech.eu/best-funded-biotechs-europe/?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.de%2F
  3. ^ "Official Website - Executive Board"
  4. ^ a b "Official Website - Company"
  5. ^ Feature in Fierce Biotech
  6. ^ "sp2 Inter-Active". September–October 2012.
  7. ^ "Gates, Hopp back $110M megaround for CureVac's mRNA work".
  8. ^ "Gates, Hopp back $110M megaround for CureVac's mRNA work".
  9. ^ Carroll, John (18 October 2017). "Eli Lilly is making a $1.8B leap into the mRNA field, targeting next-gen cancer vaccines". endpts.com.
  10. ^ "CureVac Opens up an mRNA Hub in Moderna's Cambridge Backyard".
  11. ^ "In vivo application of RNA leads to induction of specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes and antibodies". Eur J Immunol. 30 (1): 1–7. Jan 2000. doi:10.1002/1521-4141(200001)30:1<1::AID-IMMU1>3.0.CO;2-#. PMID 10602021.
  12. ^ "Sequence Engineered mRNA Without Chemical Nucleoside Modifications Enables an Effective Protein Therapy in Large Animals". Mol Ther. 23 (9): 1456–1464. Sep 2015. doi:10.1038/mt.2015.103.
  13. ^ "Conversation on CureVac's RNA-Based Therapeutics with CEO Ingmar Hoerr".
  14. ^ "Vantage Point – The messenger comes calling".
  15. ^ "German RNA Vaccines Company Bags €2 Million E.U. Vaccine Prize".
  16. ^ "Vantage Point – The messenger comes calling".
  17. ^ http://www.bionity.com/en/news/165513/curevac-announces-groundbreaking-of-industrial-scale-gmp-production-facility-for-rna-therapeutics.html
  18. ^ Petsch, B; Schnee, M; Vogel, AB; et al. (Dec 2012). "Protective efficacy of in vitro synthesized, specific mRNA vaccines against influenza A virus infection". Nat Biotechnol. 30 (12): 1210–1216. doi:10.1038/nbt.2436. PMID 23159882. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |last4= (help)
  19. ^ "Sequence Engineered mRNA Without Chemical Nucleoside Modifications Enables an Effective Protein Therapy in Large Animals". Mol Ther. 23 (9): 1456–1464. Sep 2015. doi:10.1038/mt.2015.103.
  20. ^ "Sequence Engineered mRNA Without Chemical Nucleoside Modifications Enables an Effective Protein Therapy in Large Animals". Mol Ther. 23 (9): 1456–1464. Sep 2015. doi:10.1038/mt.2015.103.
  21. ^ "Self-adjuvanted mRNA vaccination in advanced prostate cancer patients: a first-in-man phase I/IIa study". JITC. 3 (26). June 2015.
  22. ^ "J&J's Janssen Companies Launch a Trio of Collaborations".
  23. ^ "CRI, Ludwig to Test Cancer Immunotherapy Combinations with CureVac".
  24. ^ "German RNA Vaccines Company Bags €2 Million E.U. Vaccine Prize".
  25. ^ "CureVac, Sanofi Paster in 150m-euro-plus vaccines deal".
  26. ^ "Boehringer pairs its lung cancer drug with a vaccine in $600M tie-up with CureVac".
  27. ^ "Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation Makes Its Largest Ever Equity Investment In A Biotech Company".
  28. ^ "IAVI and CureVac partner to further AIDS vaccine candidates".
  29. ^ "CureVac Opens up an mRNA Hub in Moderna's Cambridge Backyard | Xconomy". Xconomy. 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
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