CureVac vaccine enters final clinical trials

German biotechnology company CureVac has entered the final stage of clinical trials, which will involve it being tested on 35,000 volunteers across Europe and Latin America.

The trial is set to assess its efficacy and safety in adults, according to a statement the company released on Monday.

The vaccine uses a similar type of mRNA gene therapy as the Pfizer vaccine, which has recently entered circulation in the UK and the study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing first episodes of confirmed cases of Covid-19 or any severity as well as preventing moderate-to-severe cases in patients who have never been infected by the virus.

Read more: Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine hits GPs from today

Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, the CureVac jab does not need to be stored at -70C during transportation. The new vaccine remains stable for up to a few months at regular fridge temperature, the company claim.

Chief Executive Franz-Werner Haas said: "The clinical safety and immunogenicity data achieved to date look promising and we are hopeful that this trial will continue to demonstrate the impact of mRNA technology and our vaccine to prevent Covid-19 and to help defeat this pandemic."

Earlier this year, CureVac signed a deal with the EU to secure 405 million doses of the vaccine as part of their scheme to inoculate high-risk areas in the bloc.

Previous news clocked the estimated purchase total at around 300m, seeing a 105 million dose increase.

Read more: EU vaccination scheme unlikely to commence until 2021

The company has abandoned plans to ship the vaccine to the US.

Back to Homepage

Back to Healthcare