GSK and CureVac Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop mRNA Vaccines for Infectious Diseases

Compiled by S. Li

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and CureVac Jointly Announce Strategic Collaboration Agreement to Co-Research, Develop, Manufacture, and Commercialize Up to Five mRNA Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Infectious Disease Pathogens

mRNA technology is a rapidly evolving, cutting-edge platform for novel vaccine development and new drug discovery. This platform has the potential to broaden the scope of diseases that can be treated and prevented, and is expected to significantly accelerate the research, development, and manufacturing of novel therapies. In the human body, mRNA is responsible for protein synthesis and carries the genetic code required for cells to synthesize and express proteins. Applying mRNA technology to vaccine and therapeutic development enables human cells to produce specific proteins or antigens, thereby leveraging the body’s own immune system to combat disease.

CureVac’s mRNA technology platform has demonstrated potential in the development and manufacturing of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Its proprietary RNAoptimizer platform is designed to optimize the characteristics of mRNA products based on three core technological pillars: protein design, mRNA optimization, and mRNA delivery. Users can customize the platform to induce varying degrees of immune response against selected specific protein antigens, thereby potentially providing effective preventive vaccines against infectious diseases such as rabies, as well as immunotherapies for cancer patients.

Core Concept of the CureVac mRNA Platform, Source: CureVac Official Website

Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will make a £130 million (approximately $160 million) equity investment in CureVac, representing a 10% stake in the latter, and pay an upfront fee of £104 million (approximately $130 million). Given that CureVac’s commercial-scale manufacturing facility under construction is undergoing certification in Germany, GSK will also make a one-time payment of £26 million (approximately $32.94 million) to secure manufacturing capacity reservations. Furthermore, CureVac will be eligible for up to £277 million (approximately $350 million) in development and regulatory milestone payments, up to £329 million (approximately $417 million) in commercial milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties based on product sales.

CureVac will be responsible for the preclinical development and Phase 1 clinical trials of these programs, while GSK will take over subsequent development and commercialization activities. CureVac will handle GMP manufacturing of the candidate products, including post-approval production, and retain commercialization rights for all candidate products in designated countries/regions.

Reference Source: GSK and CureVac announce strategic mRNA technology collaboration