Full Press Release Details
CureVac Announces Financial
Results for the First Quarter of 2022 and Provides Business Update
BOSTON, USA - May 25, 2022 - CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of
transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid ("mRNA"), today announced financial results for the first quarter
of 2022 and provided a business update.
"In the past quarter, we have leveraged
our core competencies in drug development, technology and manufacturing to accelerate the development of our company," said Franz-Werner
Haas, Chief Executive Officer of CureVac. "We expect our clinical studies in COVID-19 and influenza to provide a wealth of clinical
data to advance and validate our second-generation mRNA backbone. Preliminary data on safety and tolerability from our influenza trial
confirmed an improved side-effect profile of the second-generation mRNA backbone compared to the first-generation. In parallel, we
are translating the important insights and findings we have made in the development of mRNA technology to our oncology programs. By partnering
with myNEO, we gain access to a sophisticated platform for the discovery of novel neoantigens predicted to elicit strong immune responses
for advanced cancer vaccines."
"Our financial position in the first quarter of 2022 was still impacted
by effects related to prior commitments for our first-generation vaccine candidate, CVnCoV. Looking forward, we expect the impact
of these commitments to subside over the rest of the year," said Pierre Kemula, Chief Financial Officer of CureVac. "We have
resolved the majority of our past commitments and are now focusing on controlling costs and effectively driving momentum for key programs
with a strong focus on our second-generation mRNA backbone in vaccines and oncology as well as on manufacturing."
Prophylactic Vaccines
Second-Generation mRNA Vaccine Program, Jointly Developed with GSK
CureVac aims to be at the
forefront of delivering second-generation mRNA-based vaccines against a range of relevant infectious diseases and is executing on a
broad mRNA vaccine program in collaboration with GSK. The optimized second-generation mRNA backbone targets improved intracellular
mRNA translation for increased and extended protein expression, resulting in earlier and stronger immune responses compared to
CureVac's first-generation COVID-19 candidate, CVnCoV. Second-generation mRNA-based vaccines are expected to allow for
flexible protection against one or more emerging COVID-19 variants and to enable new mRNA vaccines against other infectious
diseases, such as influenza, as well as potential combination vaccines against different viruses.
For the fully recruited Phase 1 dose-escalation
study for influenza with multivalent candidate, CVSQIV, previously reported preliminary data on safety and tolerability confirmed that
the candidate was well tolerated with no serious adverse events or other dose-limiting effects observed at any dose level across the tested
range of 3 to 28 g per dose.
For the Phase 1 dose-escalation study for COVID-19
with CV2CoV, recruitment is currently ongoing.
In line with the mRNA development
strategy in collaboration with GSK, both companies are also working on chemically modified mRNA technologies with clinical programs for
influenza and COVID-19 expected to start later this year.
myNEO Collaboration Increases
Momentum in Oncology Pipeline
Based on the recent progress in prophylactic vaccines,
most notably the second-generation mRNA backbone, CureVac is broadening its foundation in oncology and is preparing to build up a meaningful
portfolio of cancer vaccine candidates based on promising new tumor antigens predicted to elicit strong immune responses. A first strategic
partnership was established with Belgium-based company myNEO to gain access to their advanced neoantigen discovery and selection platform.
Together with myNEO, CureVac aims to identify specific antigens found on the surface of tumors for the development of novel mRNA immunotherapies.
myNEO's state-of-the-art predictive approach
analyzes genetic data from tumor as well as normal tissues from multiple sources to identify constantly emerging, novel classes of
antigens associated with defined tumor types. Immunogenicity of identified antigens is predicted using proprietary algorithms,
machine and deep learning methods and an extensive database containing data on tumor specific mutations. Incorporating new ranking
methodologies based on tumor cell antigen processing and presentation allows for the selection of antigens with the highest
confidence of success for potential clinical testing.
myNEO represents the first step in the targeted expansion of CureVac's unique mRNA approach for the development of novel
cancer vaccines. Taking advantage of recent technology platform advances, CureVac is developing the oncology area based on three
strategic pillars. In addition to accessing novel classes of tumor antigens, these pillars include the validation and optimization
of CureVac's mRNA technology regarding strong induction of tumor-killing T cells. The company also plans to add
complementary platforms for antigen discovery and improved vaccine design with a focus on efficient T cell activation. CureVac
intends to leverage The RNA Printer , its automated end-to-end solution for smaller-scale, rapid manufacturing of GMP-grade mRNA
vaccines and therapeutics.
Financial Update for the First Quarter
Cash and cash equivalents were 658.2
million as of March 31, 2022, down from 811.5 million as of December 31, 2021. In the first three months of 2022, cash used in
operations was mainly allocated to payments in connection with purchases of raw materials and setting CMO contracts as part of the
wind-down activities for CureVac's CVnCoV program. CureVac expects the payments for the CVnCoV commitments to subside over the
Revenues amounted to 24.4 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2022, representing an increase of 14.4 million, or 144%, from 10.0 million
for the same period in 2021.
The increase was primarily driven by
revenues from the two collaborations with GSK. Over the quarter, CureVac became eligible to a 10 million milestone payment
related to the start of the seasonal influenza clinical trial. 4.7 million of this milestone were recognized pro rata as
revenue in the first quarter of 2022. For both GSK collaboration agreements, total revenues of 23.7 million were recognized
for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to 9.1 million in the prior year.
Operating loss amounted to 15.3 million
for the three months ended March 31, 2022, representing a decrease of 100.5 million, from 115.8 million for the same period
The operating result was affected by several key
Financial Result (Finance Income and Expenses)
Net financial result for the three months ended
March 31, 2022, was positive with 0.1 million, down 3.5 million from a gain of 3.6 million for the same periods
in 2021 and was mainly driven by foreign exchange gains. These were almost fully
offset by negative interest on cash, held in liquid funds to support the wind-down activities for CVnCoV and development and manufacturing
activities for CV2CoV. The financial result for the three months ended March 31, 2021, was mainly driven by foreign exchange gains.
Pre-tax loss was 15.2 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to 112.2 million in the same respective period of 2021.
CureVac is a global biopharmaceutical
company in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, with more than 20 years of expertise in developing, optimizing, and manufacturing
this 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. This collaboration was later extended to the development of second-generation COVID-19
vaccine candidates, and modified mRNA vaccine technologies. 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 T bingen, Germany, and employs more than 900
people at its sites in T bingen, Frankfurt, and Boston, USA. Further information can be found at www.curevac.com.
CureVac Investor Relations Contact
Dr. Sarah Fakih, Vice President Corporate
Communications and Investor Relations
CureVac, T bingen, Germany
T: +49 7071 9883-1298
M: +49 160 90 496949
CureVac Media Contact
Bettina J dicke-Braas, Manager Communications
CureVac, T bingen, Germany