Germany’s CureVac Cleared To Begin Trials Of Its Coronavirus Vaccine On Humans

Of the over 200 potential coronavirus vaccine currently under preparation, a few have progressed with successful trials, aiming for the human trials next to confirm their usability in humans. One such vaccine has been created by the German biotech firm CureVac, which will soon be the second company in Germany that will be beginning the clinical testing of an experimental coronavirus vaccine.

The company won the approval just days after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government backed its coronavirus vaccine. In the first phase, due to begin in June, trials will be conducted on 168 healthy adults, of which 144 will be administered the experimental vaccine. The results of the same are expected to out by the end of 2020. And if the results come out sooner and are promising, a larger trial will be conducted as early as September or October this year.

The coronavirus vaccine created by CureVac is based on the yet unproven theory of the messenger RNA wherein the body’s cells learn from the vaccine to identify and attack the virus.

According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), Germany's vaccine regulator, if the results of the trials are "very good," Curevac will be able to get an approval for its coronavirus vaccine by early 2021. This means that a potential vaccine could be ready by next summer.

Earlier, it was the Mainz-based company, Biontech, which had received approval from PEI to begin human testing in April 2020.

Germany's Ministry of Economic Affairs has also announced that it would be acquiring 23% of CureVac’s shares by taking a €300 million ($337 million) stake in the company, so as to protect the company from a potential takeover from abroad. But the ministry assured that by buying a stake in the company it has no plans to influence its inner workings.

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed the EU wish to secure access to coronavirus vaccines that are being currently prepared.

"The point is that we jointly reserve production capacities for future vaccines in companies in advance," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. She assured that the upfront costs of developing vaccines will be financed by the commission and in exchange, it will reserve the right to purchase a certain number of doses.