CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced positive preliminary data from ongoing Phase 1 clinical programs in COVID-19 and seasonal flu, assessing both modified and unmodified mRNA technology. The tested vaccine candidates are being developed in collaboration with GSK.

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced that it has dosed the first participant in a Phase 1 study of its seasonal influenza second-generation mRNA vaccine candidate, CVSQIV, developed in collaboration with GSK.

CureVac N.V. a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced that the first participant was dosed in a Phase 1 study of COVID-19 second-generation mRNA vaccine candidate, CV2CoV, developed in collaboration with GSK.

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced the publication entitled “Therapeutic HNF4A mRNA attenuates liver fibrosis in a preclinical model” in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hepatology.

The RNA Printer® is CureVac’s integrated and automated manufacturing solution for RNA vaccines and therapeutics. CureVac RNA Printer GmbH to provide dedicated infrastructure to accelerate development and broaden application range of The RNA Printer®. Dr. Markus Bergmann appointed as General Manager for CureVac RNA Printer GmbH.

CureVac N.V., a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced the strategic decision to focus its COVID-19 vaccine development towards the development of second-generation mRNA vaccine candidates in collaboration with GSK and to withdraw its first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, from the current approval process.

Initial Phase 1 part started with multivalent modified mRNA influenza vaccine candidates. Candidates developed in collaboration with GSK within broad infectious disease vaccine program encode for antigens covering four WHO-recommended flu strains.

CureVac N.V., a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on mRNA, today announced the start of a Phase 1 study of the modified COVID-19 mRNA vaccine candidate CV0501, administered as a booster dose to previous COVID-19 vaccination. Developed in collaboration with GSK, CV0501 is based on CureVac’s second-generation mRNA backbone and is designed to specifically protect against the Omicron variant.

Two molecular control factors play a decisive role in what is known as splicing, the cutting and assembly of mature messenger RNA – a prerequisite for protein synthesis in the cell. The poorly characterized factors are crucial to ensuring that the molecular machine responsible for splicing is working correctly. A research team has deciphered how the two cellular quality inspectors work.

Phase 1 part of combined Phase 1/2 study initiated as part of pandemic preparedness against highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) virus, considered to be potential future pandemic threat. Study will assess monovalent vaccine candidate, encoding an influenza A H5-antigen using proprietary second-generation mRNA backbone.

Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH - 22/09/2022

The great potential of blood-based microRNA analyses

"The early bird catches the worm", is an apt description of what motivates Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH from Heidelberg. The medium-sized biotechnology company analyses special biomarkers in blood, so-called microRNAs, in order to diagnose diseases at an early stage and to be able to make forecasts about the course of the disease and the success of therapy.

Vaccine development - 02/06/2020

CureVac as a pioneer of mRNA technology - what is behind the novel COVID-19 vaccine?

All eyes are on vaccines against the coronavirus. The Tübingen-based company CureVac is doing pioneering work in this field, and intends to initiate clinical testing of its lead vaccine candidate in June. At the same time, Curevac is manufacturing the material for this vaccine candidate. But that’s not all: the novel mRNA technology also has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of cancer and metabolic diseases. What makes the method so…

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC) (“CureVac”), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced a significant strategic restructuring to focus its resources on high-value mRNA projects in oncology and other select areas of substantial unmet medical need.

The spliceosome, ensures that the genetic information from the genome, after being transcribed into mRNA precursors, is correctly assembled into mature mRNA. Splicing is a basic requirement for producing proteins. Researchers at the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH) have succeeded for the first time in depicting a faultily “blocked” spliceosome at high resolution and reconstructing how it is recognized and eliminated in the cell.

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), and Novartis AG announced today that they have signed an initial agreement for the manufacturing of CureVac’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV. Preparations for the start of production, technology transfers and test runs are already underway.

CureVac N.V. today announced that it has dosed the first patient with its investigational cancer vaccine CVGBM in a Phase 1 study. CVGBM is based on CureVac’s proprietary second-generation mRNA backbone and features a single mRNA, encoding eight epitopes derived from known tumor-associated antigens with demon­strated relevance in glioblastoma. A first data readout is expected in the second half of 2024.

CureVac N.V., a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on mRNA and Celonic Group, a premium biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization specializing in the development and production of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products and mammalian cell line-expressed bio-therapeutics, announced their partnership for the production of CureVac’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV.

So-called silent mutations have no effect on the composition of a protein. They are therefore not considered to promote cancer. However, scientists from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), partner site Essen, now describe in a case of kidney cancer an overlooked silent mutation with a major impact on prognosis.

With its "Proof of Concept" grants, the European Research Council ERC supports scientists in further developing the commercial potential of their research results. Nina Papavasiliou from the DKFZ is now receiving the prestigious grant for the second time: she wants to advance the development of a "molecular delivery service" that ensures that therapeutic genes reach the right address in the body in a targeted manner.

Current diagnostic methods do not always reliably distinguish between chronic inflammation of the pancreas and pancreatic cancer. About one third of all diagnoses are inconclusive. Scientists from the German Cancer Research (DKFZ) and from Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) therefore searched for molecular markers that could specify this diagnosis.

Dossier - 02/12/2013

RNA interference confidence is returning

The 15-year history of RNA interference is not short on dramatic effects. It begins with the unexpected discovery and publication of the process of post-transcriptional gene silencing in 1998 for which Andrew Fire and Craig Mello were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine just eight years after their discovery. In 2001 Thomas Tuschl succeeded in switching off genes in human cells with small synthetic pieces of RNA siRNA.

Bayer has signed a collaboration and services agreement with CureVac, a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid. Under the terms of the agreement, Bayer will support the further development, supply and key territory operations of CureVac´s COVID-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV.

CureVac N.V., a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), today announced the publication of preclinical data demonstrating the induction of robust antibody and T cell responses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, in non-human primates.

In multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, relapse almost always occurs after treatment. Initially, most patients respond well to therapy. However, as the disease progresses, resistant cancer cells spread in the bone marrow, with fatal consequences for the patients.

Novel coronavirus outbreak - a status report on recent developments - 04/03/2020

Waiting for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Researchers around the world are working frantically on the development of a vaccine against the new coronavirus. A project by the Tübingen-based biotechnology company CureVac, funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), uses the company’s technology platform for mRNA-based vaccines to accelerate vaccine development, thus contributing to the future prevention of the disease.

Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.

Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.

CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (“mRNA”), today announced results of the second interim analysis of its international pivotal Phase 2b/3 study in approximatively 40,000 subjects (the HERALD study) of CureVac’s first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV.

Dossier - 31/03/2014

Peptides diverse molecules of life

Peptides exist in all organisms, wherever there are cells. The range of their physiological functions is huge. Biologically active peptides can act as hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors as well as toxins and antibiotics. This is what makes them highly interesting drug leads. They are used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, cancer and other diseases. Peptides are gaining in importance as candidates for drugs.

CureVac N.V., a global biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), today announced the publication of preclinical data demonstrating that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, protects against challenge infections with the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern B.1.351 and a strain of the original SARS-CoV-2 B1 lineage (BavPat1) in a transgenic mouse model.

Konstanz researchers discover the function of a previously unexplored protein: In three characteristic steps, "C12orf29" links the ends of RNA strands. Proteins that perform this kind of RNA ligation were previously unknown in humans. The results of the study suggest that it is important for RNA repair during cellular stress.

Genetic alterations that promote the development and spread of tumors are difficult to identify. This is especially true for mutations in the non-protein-coding regions of the genome, which include all important regulatory sequences. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have now published an algorithm that detects cancer drivers in both the protein-coding and non-coding regions of the genome.

Knowledge of the target structures for the immune cells is a basic prerequisite for the development of personalized cancer immunotherapies. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the NCT Heidelberg are publishing a sensitive method based on mass spectroscopy to identify such tumor-specific "neoepitopes". The analytical method is designed to detect these low abundance protein fragments and requires minimal amounts of…

At the University Hospital Tübingen, clinical evaluation of an in-house developed vaccine (CoVac-1) against SARS-CoV-2 was started in November 2020 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Juliane Walz in the CCU Translational Immunology of the Medical Clinic (Medical Director Prof. Dr. Helmut Salih). Now the results of the Phase I study are available and demonstrate a potent activation of the T-cell response against the coronavirus.

With mice, researchers showed that experimentally induced lack of blood flow in the brain epigenetically reprograms astrocytes into brain stem cells, which in turn can give rise to nerve progenitor cells. This discovery shows that astrocytes could potentially be used in regenerative medicine to replace damaged nerve cells.

Review - 09/02/2023

5th Gene Technology Report – a critical observation of a cutting-edge technology

The societal importance of genetic technologies was demonstrated during the coronavirus pandemic, when it was possible to rapidly develop suitable vaccines thanks to genetic engineering methods. As a result, the Fifth Gene Technology Report published in autumn 2021 reads like a validation of many years of work, as well as making it clear that the will to continue the detailed long-term monitoring is very much present.