CureVac shares soar 13% on tie-up with Bayer over Covid-19 vaccine

95-year-old Dublin woman, Maura Byrne, who lost her husband to coronavirus, has become the first nursing home resident in the country to receive Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccination. Photo: Anthony Edwards

CureVac, which is a further vaccine under development in Germany, has signed up with drugs giant Bayer as a partner for its experimental shot.

The move underscores Germany’s push for a home-grown vaccine after local rival BioNTech partnered with US drugmaker Pfizer on its Covid-19 inoculation, which is already being rolled out.

“Bayer will contribute its expertise and established infrastructure in areas such as clinical operations, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, medical information, supply chain performance as well as support in selected countries,” the companies said.

A spokeswoman for Bayer said the drugmaker would for now play a supporting role in production and would decide during the first quarter whether to manufacture the vaccine for CureVac.

CureVac’s shares had surged 13%, as traders said the deal gave added assurance on the viability of the biotech firm’s technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.

CureVac last month started a late-stage clinical trial of its vaccine candidate, banking on the same technology that has allowed rivals BioNTech and Moderna to lead the development race.

Nasdaq-listed CureVac, which is backed by investors Dietmar Hopp, the Gates Foundation, and GlaxoSmithKline as well as the German government, has said it aims to produce up to 300 million doses of the vaccine in 2021 and up to 600 million in 2022.

Ahead of regulatory approval, the EU has secured up to 405 million doses of the shot among a slew of supply deals it has agreed with vaccine developers.

Under the deal with Bayer, CureVac will be in charge of obtaining regulatory approval for its vaccine in the EU, while Bayer has options to take that role in other, unspecified markets outside of Europe.

In March last year CureVac was at the centre of a row over alleged attempts by US President Donald Trump to gain access to the vaccine. 

Reuters