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As CureVac strives to convince the world that it won’t let its disappointing first-generation Covid-19 mRNA vaccine hold it back, Bayer apparently isn’t sticking around to help manufacture the new candidates.
“Together with CureVac, we have decided by mutual agreement not to continue the cooperation,” a Bayer spokesperson told the German newspaper. Rhine Post, through Reuters.
When it is reached by Terminal news, CureVac declined to confirm the termination but offered no further explanation.
For months, the pharmaceutical giant had supported its German biotech colleagues in clinical development, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance and other areas, while pledging to produce 160 million doses of the CureVac vaccine at its Wuppertal site. , in western Germany.
The results of the Phase III trial, however, cast a shadow over those plans. The vaccine did not meet the 50% effectiveness threshold that many have assumed to be required of any coronavirus vaccine to hit the market.
At the time, leaders insisted they could still apply for emergency use authorization and that shooting would still have a role to play in the pandemic. And Bayer noted that his plan to start production by the end of 2021 “still holds true,” although he also admitted he was assessing the situation.
But CureVac changed their mind, revealing earlier this week that they would drop that candidate and conceding that they ultimately couldn’t make a part of the first wave.
Biotechnology, working with GlaxoSmithKline, said it will focus more on a second-generation mRNA candidate. From a spokesperson:
Regarding our manufacturing plans, we have responded to the changing demand for first generation pandemic vaccines over the past month and streamlined our manufacturing capabilities to ensure that we can quickly and flexibly deliver potential vaccines from second generation in line with endemic demand for ongoing COVID-19 vaccines. until 2022. To this end, we have already started to evolve the manufacturing configuration of our in-house GMP III manufacturing plant and European network facilities towards the production of second generation clinical construction equipment. In collaboration with GSK, we strive to shape the manufacturing processes and organization to effectively meet future public health needs.
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