CureVac, a Tubingen, Germany-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) therapeutics, and the European Commission (EC) have concluded exploratory talks outlining an advanced purchase agreement to supply up to 405 million doses of CureVac’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The contract with the EC is intended to provide all European Union member states with up to 225 million doses and an option for an additional purchase of 180 million doses to be supplied once CureVac’s mRNA-based vaccine has proven to be safe and effective against COVID-19.

The company’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate to prevent SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is currently in a Phase I clinical trial at different study sites in Germany and Belgium. The study is determining the optimal dose and evaluating the safety and immunological profile of the vaccine in humans. CureVac says it is expecting first results early in the fourth quarter of 2020. Based on the results of the Phase I clinical trial, CureVac says it plans to initiate a Phase IIb/III clinical trial also in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Source: CureVac