Benzinga | Jun 30, 2021 04:38PM EDT

CureVac Reports Data From Phase 2b/3 Trial Of COVID-19 Vaccine; Showed Efficacy Of 53% Against Disease Of Any Severity, Efficacy Of 77% Against Moderate And Severe Disease, Full Protection Against Hospitalization Or Death

CureVac Final Data from Phase 2b/3 Trial of First-Generation COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate, CVnCoV, Demonstrates Protection in Age Group of 18 to 60



Unique pivotal study conducted in 10 countries in fast changing variant . environment; 15 COVID-19 variant strains present for efficacy analysis; original strain almost completely absent

. Statistical success criteria for primary endpoint met on basis of 228 adjudicated cases

. Vaccine efficacy of 48% against COVID-19 of any severity across all age groups and 15 variants

. Significant vaccine efficacy demonstrated in participants aged 18 to 60 and across all 15 variants:

o Efficacy of 53% against disease of any severity

o Efficacy of 77% against moderate and severe disease

o Full protection against hospitalization or death

. CureVac in ongoing dialogue with EMA; continuing regulatory submission

T?BINGEN, Germany/ BOSTON, USA -- June 30, 2021 -- 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 from the final analysis of its 40,000 subject international pivotal Phase 2b/3 study (the HERALD study) of the first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV. In the unprecedented context of 15 strains circulating within the study population at the time of final analysis, CVnCoV demonstrated an overall vaccine efficacy of 48% (vaccine 83 vs. 145 placebo) against COVID-19 disease of any severity, including single non-respiratory mild symptoms. Significant protection was demonstrated among participants in the age group of 18 to 60, with an efficacy of 53% (vaccine 71 vs. 136 placebo) against disease of any severity and across all 15 identified strains; protection against moderate to severe disease was calculated to be 77% (9 vaccine vs. 36 placebo). In the same age group, CVnCoV provided 100% protection (vaccine 0 vs. 6 placebo) against hospitalization or death. In participants above 60 years, who represented 9% of the analysed cases, the available data did not enable a statistically significant determination of efficacy. The data confirm the favorable safety profile of CVnCoV in all age groups. The study will continue to complete follow-up analyses for trial participants. Available data have been communicated to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

"In this final analysis, CVnCoV demonstrates a strong public health value in fully protecting study participants in the age group of 18 to 60 against hospitalization or death and 77% against moderate and severe disease -- an efficacy profile, which we believe will be an important contribution to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic variant spread," said Dr. Franz-Werner Haas, Chief Executive Officer of CureVac. "In the current context of an increasingly diverse environment of COVID-19 variants, and with very little residual prevalence of the original strain, we are confident that the HERALD study offers clinically relevant data regarding the effect of emerging variants on vaccine efficacy."



In total, 228 adjudicated COVID-19 cases (83 vaccine vs. 145 placebo) were assessed in the final analysis. In the age group of 18 to 60, across strains of higher prevalence, strain-dependent vaccine efficacy ranged from approximately 42% to up to 67%. Out of the 228 cases, 204 were sequenced to identify the variant causing the infection. Approximately 86% of these cases were caused by Variants of Concern (~51%) and Variants of Interest (~35%), the latter including the Lambda strain, first identified in Peru (~21%) and B.1.621, first identified in Colombia (~14%). Approximately 3% of cases were attributable to the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. The remaining 11% were caused by less-explored strains.

The HERALD study, enrolled approximately 40,000 participants in ten countries in Latin America and Europe. Statistical success criteria for the final analysis were met on the basis of 228 cases, occurring at least two weeks after administration of the second dose, including 68 additional adjudicated cases compared to the pre-defined 160 cases as per trial protocol. To identify COVID-19 strains within the trial, sequencing of virus variants has been performed on 588 COVID-19 cases, of which 204 fulfilled adjudication criteria and were included in the efficacy analysis.

Beyond CVnCoV, the company is developing second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidates in partnership with GSK. These candidates are based on new mRNA backbones and include potential variants in multivalent vaccine formats as well as combination vaccines for potential protection against multiple infectious diseases in single injection. Preclinical data from the first vaccine candidate, CV2CoV, has recently been published in Nature Communications. CureVac and GSK expect to progress the second-generation vaccine candidate into clinical testing in the third quarter of 2021, with the goal of introducing the vaccine in 2022, subject to regulatory approval.

CureVac will host an investors and analyst webcast and conference call on Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. CET / 8:00 a.m. EDT. The live conference call dial-in details and webcast link can be accessed via the Investor Relations section of the CureVac website at https://www.curevac.com/en/newsroom/events/ Corresponding presentation slides will be posted shortly before the start of the webcast. A replay will be made available on this website after the event.

CureVac will also host a virtual German speaking press conference on Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. CET. The live conference call dial-in details and webcast link can be accessed via the Investor Relations section of the CureVac website at https://www.curevac.com/en/newsroom/events/ Corresponding presentation slides will be posted shortly before the start of the webcast.