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EU secures loan for #CureVac to allow a speedy scale-up in Europe

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Today (16 March) the European Commission Chief Spokesperson Eric Mamer announced that the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Charles Michel will be speaking with the leadership of CureVac this afternoon on its continued operation and research in Europe.

According to a front-page report in the German weekly Welt am Sonntag (15 March) President Trump offered CureVac $1 billion (894 million euros) for the exclusive rights to any vaccine that could be used to treat COVID-19 and tried to lure the company's research and development to the US.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted: " German researchers are leaders in the development of vaccines, in worldwide collaborations. We cannot allow others to exclusively acquire their research results. #COVIDー19 we only defeat together, not against each other. #CureVac"

Following the phone call President von der Leyen tweeted:

Today, the Commission offered up to €80 million of financial support to CureVac, to scale up the development and production of a vaccine against the Coronavirus in Europe. The EIB agreed to support the company through an EU guarantee from its InnovFin Infectious Disease Finance Facility under Horizon 2020. 

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “In this public health crisis it is of utmost importance that we support our leading researchers and tech companies. We are determined to provide CureVac with the financing it needs to quickly scale up the development and production of a vaccine against the Coronavirus. I am proud that we have leading companies like CureVac in the EU. Their home is here. But their vaccines will benefit everyone, in Europe and beyond.” 

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “Supporting excellent EU research and innovation is an essential part of our coordinated response against the spread of the Coronavirus. In 2014, CureVac won EU's first-ever innovation inducement prize. We are committed to support further its EU-based research and innovation in these critical times. Science and innovation in Europe are at the heart of our policies for protecting people's health.” 

The German billionaire Dietmar Hopp owns the most shares of CureVac, followed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Hopp said: "If we're successful in developing an effective vaccine to combat the #CoronaVirus in the near future, this should reach, protect and help people not only regionally but worldwide as a show of solidarity."

CureVac focuses on the development of mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine to protect people worldwide. Mariola Fotin-Mleczek, Chief Technology Officer of CureVac, commented: “Nature has invented mechanisms to activate our immune system against infectious diseases. With our unique messenger RNA technology we mimic nature and give our body the information how to fight against the virus. The combination of mRNA science, disease understanding, formulation and production expertise make CureVac a unique player to fight against any infectious disease, no matter whether they are seasonal or pandemic.”

CureVac is a clinical-stage biotechnology company in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology with 20 years of expertise in developing molecules for medical purposes. The principle of CureVac's proprietary technology is the use of mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce its own proteins capable of fighting a wide range of diseases. The company applies its technologies for the development of cancer therapies, antibody therapies, the treatment of rare diseases, and prophylactic vaccines. CureVac has received significant investments, amongst others from Hopp BioTech holding and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The European Commission awarded CureVac its first ever EU innovation inducement prize of €2 million, funded by the EU's research and innovation programme, FP7 back in 2014. The award was intended to support further development of its breakthrough idea of bringing life-saving vaccines to people in safe and affordable ways.

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