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Curevac is no longer part of the federal vaccination campaign due to delays in approval (symbol image)
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
In an effort to launch a highly effective corona vaccine, the Tübingen-based pharmaceutical company Curevac has suffered a setback. His corona vaccine candidate CVnCoV missed the statistical targets in a second interim analysis. Curevac reported this in a mandatory report on Wednesday evening. "In a previously unprecedented environment with at least 13 variants within the subset of study participants examined in this interim analysis, CVnCoV achieved a preliminary effectiveness of 47 percent against COVID-19 disease of any severity and thus did not meet the specified statistical success criteria." traded CureVac share collapsed in after-hours trading by almost 40 percent.
The company's announcement can be found here: CureVac Announces Status Update on Phase 2b / 3 Trial for First Generation Vaccine Candidate CVnCoV
"We had hoped for stronger results in the interim analysis, but we saw that it is a challenge to achieve a high level of effectiveness with this unprecedented range of variants," said Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of Curevac, according to the announcement.
The company will continue the study.
The final effectiveness could therefore still change.
"The diverse environment also shows that the development of second-generation vaccines is very important as new variants keep emerging," said Haas.
Initial analyzes have shown that the effectiveness depends on the age group examined and the strain of the virus, it said. The Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has confirmed a good safety profile and the study will continue until the final analysis. The first-generation vaccine candidate is in the final stages of clinical development. An initial interim analysis did not reveal any safety concerns. CureVac works with Bayer.
The European Union has secured up to 405 million doses of the Curevac vaccine.
Like the vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, the agent is based on the new technology of messenger RNA (mRNA), which is supposed to convey information to human cells to combat pathogens.
In contrast to these companies - whose studies, however, took place before the emergence of new virus variants, which now make up most of the infections - the investigations at Curevac drag on.
The Federal Ministry of Health no longer lists the manufacturer's vaccine in its delivery plans for 2021 published on the website.
ime / Reuters / dpa