By:- Team VOH
4 Jul 2024
British pharmaceutical giant GSK (GSK.L) has bought out its partner CureVac in their joint influenza and COVID-19 vaccine development venture. This move enhances GSK's expertise in messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and provides CureVac with crucial financial support.
GSK, one of the top vaccine producers globally, will take over CureVac's leading experimental vaccines aimed at combating infections such as seasonal and avian flu. The agreement includes an upfront payment of €400 million ($430 million) to CureVac, with potential additional payments of up to €1.05 billion based on future achievements.
Following the announcement, CureVac's shares surged by 24%, reaching a three-week high. CureVac plans to reduce its workforce by about 30% as it shifts its focus to mRNA-based cancer therapies and other early-stage projects. The infusion of cash from GSK extends CureVac's funding from the end of next year to 2028.
The partnership between GSK and CureVac, established in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, has focused on developing mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases. The latest agreement underscores GSK CEO Emma Walmsley's commitment to prioritizing vaccines and infectious diseases, a strategy to mitigate the impact of patent expirations and declining revenues from current top-selling drugs by the decade's end.
In April, CureVac announced it would cut 150 jobs from its workforce of over 1,000 to recover from its unsuccessful attempt to develop an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. The 30% job reduction disclosed on Wednesday includes these previously announced cuts.
GSK will continue advancing the development of flu and COVID-19 vaccines currently in phase II trials and an avian flu vaccine in phase I trials. The licensing agreement does not affect GSK's 7% stake in CureVac, according to a GSK spokesperson.
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