The preliminary results showed that vaccine candidates, using a modified second-generation mRNA backbone, produced promising immunogenicity and reactogenicity profiles in both indications.
The company said that in relation to the COVID-19 program, its monovalent modified mRNA vaccine candidate CV0501, encoding Omicron variant BA.1, successfully boosted antibody titers against BA.1 and ancestral variants in healthy adults and was generally well tolerated across all tested dose groups.
As regards the flu program, CureVac reported that its monovalent modified mRNA vaccine candidate, Flu-SV-mRNA, successfully boosted antibody titers against a matching flu strain; even at the lowest dose, titers were at least in line with a licensed comparator.
Flu-SV-mRNA was well tolerated across all tested dose groups, it added.
Clinical development advances
Based on these preliminary data, the company said the development of modified mRNA COVID-19 and flu vaccine candidates will be advanced to the next stage of clinical testing in 2023.
“The positive results from this preliminary data analysis strongly validate the power of our proprietary mRNA-technology platform, opening the door to new opportunities in the development of effective prophylactic vaccines and also for advancement of our robust oncology strategy,” said Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of CureVac.
The data readout, said the CEO, means that CureVac can turn the page and enter 2023 as a competitive player in the development of mRNA therapies.
“The data derived from CureVac’s mRNA technology platform and second-generation mRNA backbone implemented in the current clinical compounds demonstrate the potential of our portfolio not just in COVID-19 and influenza, but across the spectrum of RNA therapies,” said Igor Splawski, CSO of CureVac. “This includes oncology, where CureVac’s second-generation mRNA backbone is applied.”