German company CureVac signs deal to develop multi-variant vaccine with GSK

German biopharmaceutical company CureVac has signed a deal with GSK to develop a vaccine that could target multiple variants. GSK will also support CureVac in producing other vaccine candidates.

CureVac partners with GSK

The German vaccine developer CureVac has signed a deal worth 150 million euros with British pharmaceutical company GSK to develop a vaccine that will be able to target multiple variants of the coronavirus with one shot. Should it be successfully developed and approved, the vaccine will be available in the next few years. “With the help of GSK’s proven vaccine expertise, we are equipping ourselves to tackle future health challenges with novel vaccines,” said Franz-Werner Haas, CEO at CureVac.

The new vaccine, which is already in development, will specifically target coronavirus mutations and is based on the existing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. It should be able to offer protection to those who are unvaccinated, as well as function as a booster to those who are. GSK will support CureVac in producing 100 million doses of the vaccine candidate throughout 2021. The two companies also announced that they would be looking into developing mRNA vaccines to protect against other respiratory diseases.

GSK will also support CureVac in manufacturing up to 100 million doses of its first-generation vaccine candidate, CVnCoV. CureVac has already announced it is expanding its partnership with German pharmaceutical company Bayer to produce its CVnCoV vaccine candidate, which they hope will be available by the summer. CureVac has previously said it expects to produce 600 million doses by 2022.