Helping you make wiser investment decisions

BioNTech, CureVac bag $745M in German funding for COVID-19 vaccine hopefuls

September 15, 2020 Kyle Blankenship


Two German biotechs, BioNTech and CureVac, have been at the cutting edge of the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine—a time-consuming and costly process. In order to get both over the finish line, the German government is making a big investment in both candidates’ development.

The German government has awarded the mRNA-based vaccine makers a combined $745 million to drive development of their respective COVID-19 candidates. 

BioNTech, which has partnered with Pfizer to bring two versions from its BNT162 vaccine program to late-stage clinical trials, scored $445 million from Germany on Tuesday, according to a release

Virtual Roundtable

ESMO Post Show: Highlights from the Virtual Conference

Cancer experts and pharma execs will break down the headline-making data from ESMO, sharing their insights and analysis around the conference’s most closely watched studies. This discussion will examine how groundbreaking research unveiled over the weekend will change clinical practice and prime drugs for key new indications, and panelists will fill you in on the need-to-know takeaways from oncology’s hottest fields. Register today.

The milestone-based funding will help BioNTech advance its vaccine candidates through clinical trials and regulatory approvals, the German biotech said. One version of BNT162 is currently in phase 3 human testing and is aiming for regulatory approval as soon as October. 

Meanwhile, CureVac received its $299 million in German funding earlier this month. Based on the government’s predetermined milestones, CureVac expects to snare $122 million of that total by the end of the year. 

Germany’s big investment in those two programs comes as Pfizer and BioNTech are looking to push their candidate through regulatory approval in a month’s time. 

RELATED: Pfizer CEO says coronavirus vaccine data will roll in fast enough for results late October



Source link