GSK and CureVac to develop next generation mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

UK pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and German biotech firm CureVac (Nasdaq: CVAC) today announced a new 150 million-euro ($180.5 million) collaboration, building on their existing relationship, to jointly develop next generation mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 with the potential for a multi-valent approach to address multiple emerging variants in one vaccine.

GSK will also support the manufacture of up to 100 million doses of CureVac's first generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV in 2021. CureVac’s shares were up more than 6% at $104.86 in pre-market New York trading today following the announcement.

Through this new exclusive co-development agreement, GSK and CureVac will contribute resources and expertise to research, develop, and manufacture a number of novel mRNA vaccine candidates, including multi-valent and monovalent approaches. The aim of this work is to offer broader protection against a variety of different SARS-CoV2 variants, and to enable a quick response to new variants potentially emerging in the future. The development programme will begin immediately, with the target of introducing the vaccine in 2022, subject to regulatory approval.