CureVac's bigger story
However, CureVac won't need Tesla's Midas touch to succeed with its bigger story. It's one of only three companies with COVID-19 vaccine candidates currently in phase 2 testing. The other two are Chinese drugmakers. This puts CureVac's vaccine candidate CVnCoV behind only five others in late-stage testing that could be commercialized in major Western markets.
CureVac plans to advance CVnCOV into a pivotal phase 2b/3 clinical study by the end of 2020. If all goes well, the biotech seems likely to become one of the biggest COVID vaccine winners.
The company recently lined up an agreement with the European Commission to supply up to 225 million doses of CVnCOV (assuming it secures regulatory approval). The deal includes an option for the EC to buy an additional 180 million doses. Although no financial details were revealed, CureVac likely stands to make several billion dollars in 2021 if CVnCOV is proven to be safe and effective in late-stage testing.
CVnCOV can be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures for up to three months and for up to 24 hours at room temperature. This could give it an advantage over vaccines such as Pfizer's and BioNTech's BNT162b2, which must be stored at ultracold temperatures.
One to watch
Success for CVnCOV could bode well for the rest of CureVac's mRNA pipeline. The company is evaluating a rabies vaccine and two cancer immunotherapy candidates in phase 1 clinical studies. CureVac also has several other preclinical programs.
It's still too early to know for sure if CVnCOV will achieve similar efficacy to the results announced by Pfizer and Moderna. However, CureVac is without question a biotech stock for investors to keep on their radars.
Keith Speights owns shares of Pfizer. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
