Dietmar Hopp, the co-owner of CureVac, a biopharmaceutical company based in Tübingen, has announced that the company may be able to develop a coronavirus vaccine by autumn.
Dietmar Hopp has given hope that a new coronavirus vaccine can be developed and distributed by autumn. Hopp told reporters that, “If the course is positive, we could start clinical tests around early summer.” Approval for the development and trialling of the vaccine should be fast-tracked due to the worsening global situation. “So we should be able to deliver a vaccine in the fall,” explained Hopp.
Unfortunately a vaccine would not be able to treat those already infected by coronavirus. However, it would be able to prevent healthy people from developing the virus, “if, for example, the corona pandemic should intensify again next winter, which some experts fear.”
Recent reports have alluded to the United States trying to acquire exclusive rights to the coronavirus vaccine, with reports of President Donald Trump making an offer. However both the White House and CureVac have denied this, with the pharmaceutical company saying that it was not an option for them to develop the vaccine exclusively for the US.
CureVac has been researching a vaccine for the coronavirus since January. The European Commission has reportedly offered the company 80 million euros in financial support.