CureVac Vaccine Shows Immune Response

London: Germany-based vaccine maker CureVac on Monday announced that early trials of its candidate CvnCoV have triggered a safe and immense response among participants in its Phase 1 trial.

The vaccine produced strong binding and neutralising antibody responses in addition to first indication of T cell activation, the company said.

More than 250 individuals aged 18 to 60 years were involved in the trial.

The vaccine was administered intramuscularly with escalating dose levels of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 microgram on days 1 and 29.

The vaccine was also tried on 10 individuals who had previously had COVID-19  (seropositives).

“We are very encouraged by the interim Phase 1 data. It represents a critical milestone in our Covid-19 vaccine programme and strongly supports the advancement of our vaccine candidate,” Franz-Werner Haas, Chief Executive Officer of CureVac, said in a statement.

“Following further data readouts and discussion with regulatory authorities, we remain fully committed and on track to initiate a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial before the end of 2020.”

There were no serious side-effects. At 12 microgram, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle pain, and to a lesser extent, fever were seen, the company said. These were resolved rapidly.

“These initial data show a robust and highly efficient immune response to our natural mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid)-based CVnCoV vaccine candidate, including antibody and initial T cell responses at the level of a relevant panel of symptomatic convalescent patients,” said Mariola Fotin-Mleczek, Chief Technology Officer of CureVac.