CureVac, Celonic Enter COVID-19 Vax Mfg. Pact

CureVac N.V., a biopharmaceutical company developing medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), and Celonic Group, a biopharmaceutical CDMO specializing in the development and production of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), have partnered for the production of CureVac’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV.

The companies entered into a commercial supply agreement to produce CureVac’s CVnCoV at Celonic’s state-of-the-art commercial manufacturing facility in Heidelberg, Germany. Celonic will be prepared to manufacture more than 100 million doses, with more than 50 million doses expected before the end of 2021. Under the initial agreement, technology transfer is already underway. The commercial supply agreement includes manufacturing of the mRNA drug substance as well as LNP formulation of the bulk drug product.

CureVac’s an expected output capacity of its European manufacturing network is up to 300 million doses in 2021.

“Manufacturing of sufficient quantities of vaccine is critical to combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Florian von der Mülbe, Chief Production Officer of CureVac. “With this partnership, we are further extending our integrated European manufacturing network, reinforcing the overall production capacity for our COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV.”

Dr. Konstantin Matentzoglu, Chief Executive Officer of Celonic, said, “We have invested heavily to support our partners in bringing novel COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines to patients, at an accelerated pace. Celonic is proud to collaborate with CureVac as part of an expansive manufacturing network in this global fight against COVID-19 by contributing to the production of its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV. With a dedicated and highly motivated team in place, Celonic is well positioned to have produced the first 50 million doses before end of 2021.”