- Title: German firm's low-dose coronavirus vaccine could allow for mass production
- Date: 14th March 2020
- Summary: HOFMANN PUTTING SAMPLE INTO MACHINE VARIOUS OF MACHINE TESTING SAMPLE VARIOUS OF HOFMANN WASHING HIS HANDS
- Embargoed: 28th March 2020 10:46
- Keywords: Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations CureVac coronavirus immunity
- Location: TUEBINGEN, GERMANY
- City: TUEBINGEN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA003C50VARR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Germany's CureVac, among the vaccine developers funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), said it could mass-produce a coronavirus immunisation from its existing facilities if its low-dose approach proves successful in trials.
Privately held Curevac, which was granted up to $8.3 million by CEPI in January, is working to draw on its low-dose vaccine technology, which has showed promise in an early-stage rabies trial, for use against the coronavirus.
The Tuebingen-based company in Germany hopes to have an experimental vaccine ready by June or July to then seek the go-ahead from regulators for testing on humans.
Florian von der Muelbe, Chief Production Officer and co-founder, told Reuters a mode of action that allowed for a low dosage to trigger an immune reaction against rabies would also be applied in the coronavirus setting. He said up to 10 million doses per production campaign could be produced.
A campaign, or production cycle, typically lasts several weeks, a spokesman specified. More than one dose may be required to immunise a person but one campaign would still serve several million people, he added.
CureVac specialises in so-called messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules that instruct human cells to produce therapeutic proteins that trigger an immune response against cancer or infectious diseases.
In that field, it competes with U.S. biotech firm Moderna, which is also receiving CEPI funding, and German rival BioNTech, which Pfizer has identified as a potential collaboration partner.
Top U.S. health officials have said that it would take up to 18 months to develop any vaccine against the pathogen.
(Production: Marcus Nagle, Tilman Blasshofer) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None