Back to top

Image: Bigstock

CureVac Begins Phase IIa Study on Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate

Read MoreHide Full Article

CureVac N.V. (CVAC - Free Report) announced that it has dosed the first participant in a phase IIa study, evaluating its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV. The dose-confirmation CV-NCOV-002 study will evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate in 690 healthy participants.

In the above-mentioned program, participants are categorized into two groups: firstly, adults aged 61 years and above and secondly, younger participants aged between 18 years and 60 years. The study will investigate the different dose levels of CVnCoV to confirm its safety and evaluate its reactogenicity in older adults. Data from the phase IIa study is expected in the fourth quarter 2020.

The CV-NCOV-002 study is being conducted in Peru and Panama and is based on the preliminary safety and immunogenicity outcomes from the ongoing phase I study CV-NCOV-001, which is being conducted in Germany and Belgium. Based on the results from the ongoing CV-NCOV-001 and the CV-NCOV-002 studies, CureVac plans to begin a global phase IIb/III study in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Shares of CureVac were up 8.1% in after-hours trading following the aforementioned news on Tuesday. However, the stock has lost 17.1% in the past month compared with the industry’s decrease of 0.7%.


We remind investors that CureVac started trading on the New York stock exchange after its initial public offering on Aug 4, 2020.

In September 2020, CureVac received a notice from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research that stated that the company is expected to earn up to 252 million euros for the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Meanwhile, in August, the company concluded a round of exploratory talks, outlining an Advanced Purchase Agreement (APA) for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate with the European Commission (EC). With this contract, CureVac is looking to supply up to 225 million doses of the vaccine to all EU-member states upon approval with an option to deliver an additional 180 million doses.

We note that several drugmakers are working relentlessly to develop a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus disease, which has so far infected 33.7 million people globally and killed more than a million already.

Small biotechs like Moderna (MRNA - Free Report) , Vaxart (VXRT - Free Report) , Novavax (NVAX - Free Report) and large pharma companies, namely AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer among others are actively engaged in developing a vaccine to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zacks Rank

CureVac currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) - free report >>

Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) - free report >>

VAXART, INC. (VXRT) - free report >>

CureVac N.V. (CVAC) - free report >>

Published in