Biotech companies - CureVac sells license rights for Covid-19 and Flu vaccines
The biotech company Curevac can sell license rights for mRNA Flu and Covid-19 vaccines to the British pharmaceutical company GSK. The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn approved the deal. The vaccine candidates were developed based on cooperation agreements between Curevac and GSK. Clinical trials are ongoing.
Millions for the company's coffers
According to Curevac, the license will cost up to 1.45 billion Euros and an equity stake. A down payment of 400 million Euros was agreed upon, a company spokesperson at the headquarters in Tübingen stated. With the sale, Curevac wants to focus more on research and development. "We are giving up on developing products completely independently."
The company secures much-needed financial resources with the sale, after facing issues in clinical studies and patent disputes surrounding its mRNA technology. Curevac had recently announced, as part of a corporate restructuring, that it plans to eliminate almost every third position. The company will reduce staff by 30% and lower operating costs by a total of 30% starting next year.
Promising in the pandemic
Initially, during the Corona pandemic, the biotech company was considered one of the promising players in the development of a vaccine against the virus. However, due to relatively low efficacy, Curevac withdrew its first vaccine candidate from the approval process.
The vaccine manufacturer is working on the development of a second-generation Corona vaccine. In addition, the company is researching vaccines for cancer therapy. A product is not yet available on the market.
The approval of the deal by the Federal Cartel Office in Bonn occurs in the heart of Germany, specifically in the state of Baden-Württemberg, where CureVac's headquarters are located in Tübingen. Despite setbacks in clinical studies and patent disputes, the sale to GSK provides a significant boost for CureVac, as a pharmaceutical company based in the UK. The Pharmaceutical industry has shown interest in CureVac's mRNA technology for potential COVID-19 vaccines. The collaboration between CureVac and GSK could potentially lead to breakthroughs in the fight against various diseases, including COVID-19. The sale also allows CureVac to refocus on research and development, which could lead to advancements in both cancer therapy and future pandemics.
