The partnership between GSK CureVac that was formed during the pandemic is now restructured into a deal valued at up to €1,45 billion.
The FTSE 100 drug company has acquired full rights worldwide to develop, manufacture, and commercialise mRNA candidates vaccines for influenza, Covid, and combinations.
CureVac, the German biotechnology expert, will receive an initial €400m and an additional €1.05bn in milestone payments for development, sales, and regulatory approvals, as well as royalties.
GSK stated that the new licensing agreement would allow each company to prioritize investment and focus on their respective mRNA research activities. The new agreement replaces financial terms from a collaboration that was established in July 2020 during the coronavirus epidemic, where GSK had agreed to pay CureVac up to approximately £900,000,000. President Trump is said to have sought CureVac’s vaccine research in the United States. GSK took a nearly 10-percent stake in CureVac, and the two companies worked together on five vaccines or monoclonal antibody targeting infectious diseases.
Messenger RNA vaccines — which are based on a technology that allows the body to produce proteins or antigens to fight or prevent disease by allowing the immune system — have the potential to treat or prevent a wider range of diseases. Science was the driving force behind the rapid development of vaccines against Covid.
GSK and CureVac developed vaccine candidates in 2020 for seasonal influenza, Covid, and avian flu in phase I trials. GSK now has full control over these projects. GSK stated that the data were promising and could potentially lead to “best-in class new vaccines”.
CureVac has exclusive rights over additional, undisclosed pre-clinical targets for infectious diseases. The Nasdaq listed company’s ongoing patent litigation with Pfizer and BioNTech – the companies it worked with on the widely used mRNA Covid – is not affected by the new deal.
GSK is the second largest drug company in Britain and one of the leading vaccine companies worldwide. However, it was behind BioNTech, Pfizer and AstraZeneca when the Covid jabs were launched. The company is based in London, and it has a research centre for vaccines in Belgium. The group has focused its efforts on improving research productivity and its core business of vaccines and pharmaceuticals since the Haleon consumer healthcare division was separated two years ago.
Tony Wood, chief scientific officer of GSK, stated: “With this agreement, we will use GSK’s capabilities and partnerships, as well as intellectual property, to CureVac’s technology in order to deliver these promising vaccinations at a pace.”
Alexander Zehnder is CureVac’s CEO. He said, “The collaboration between GSK and CureVac has been instrumental in the development of promising vaccine candidates at late clinical stages, using our proprietary mRNA platforms. This new licensing deal puts us in a good financial position, and allows us to concentrate on building a strong R&D portfolio.
GSK shares closed at £15.03 1/2, flat.
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