After millions in losses related to the failed development of a corona vaccine, the Tübingen biotech company CureVac is focusing on research.
“That’s what makes CureVac strong: research, innovation and early clinical development,” says CEO Alexander Zehnder.
The aim is to concentrate on the areas of oncology and non-respiratory diseases. “We want to use mRNA technology to tackle bacterial diseases, for example. Recurrent urinary tract diseases are also an issue,” says the CEO. Discussions are being held with various possible partners from the pharmaceutical industry.
The company sold the licensing rights for mRNA flu and Covid-19 vaccines to the British pharmaceutical company GSK (GlaxoSmithKline). This deal gave the people of Tübingen, who were in financial distress, some breathing space. The federal government invested 300 million euros in CureVac in 2020 through the KfW development bank and now still holds a stake of around 13 percent.
Finally in the black again
In the third quarter, CureVac was in the black for the first time since the corona pandemic. Licenses went to GSK within the license agreement, which was worth up to 1.45 billion euros. CureVac received an advance payment of 400 million euros. The vaccine candidates were developed based on cooperation agreements between CureVac and GSK. According to Zehnder, CureVac sees itself as financially secure at least until 2028.
CureVac is making itself narrower
During the corona pandemic, CureVac “grew very quickly and (…) became too big, too complicated,” says Zehnder. Two of the seven hierarchy levels have now been abolished and departments have been merged.
In 2024, Zehnder cut off 300 employees. There was no social plan; Volunteer programs were offered. The severance pay programs are still running and there are few hardship cases. Zehnder could not say whether lawsuits were imminent. These restructuring measures are expected to be completed by the end of January.
The Job cuts cost money. The budget was 15 million euros. So far – and without possible lawsuits – around 14 million euros have been spent on severance payments. Zehnder emphasizes that this was achieved without any layoffs. With the job cuts, around 30 percent of operating costs would be eliminated from 2025.
Legal dispute with Biontech
In addition, several legal disputes with Biontech (BioNTech (ADRs)) over a corona vaccine patent will continue in 2025, in Germany, the USA and Great Britain. In the damages dispute between CureVac and Biontech over a corona vaccine patent, the Düsseldorf regional court postponed its judgment until the end of 2023. The Federal Patent Court had previously declared the controversial CureVac patent invalid. CureVac filed an appeal in May 2024. The legal dispute has been suspended until the Federal Court of Justice decides on the legal status of the disputed patent.
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TÜBINGEN (dpa-AFX)
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