'Challenging': CureVac's COVID-19 vaccine shows only 47% efficacy in late-stage trial

German biotech CureVac NV on June 16 announced that its COVID-19 vaccine was only 47 per cent effective in a late-stage trial. According to a press release, the clinical trial of approximately 40,000 participants across 10 countries found a high prevalence of virus variants, in particular, the lambda strain first detected in South America. The study also found varying levels of efficacy for different age groups. 

CureVac’s Chief Executive Franz-Werner Haas said, “While we were hoping for a stronger interim outcome, we recognize that demonstrating high efficacy in this unprecedented broad diversity of variants is challenging. As we are continuing toward the final analysis with a minimum of 80 additional cases, the overall vaccine efficacy may change”. 

As per the press release, the German company found 13 virus variants that accounted for the infections among the study population. Out of the reported coronavirus cases in the trial, 124 were sequenced to identify the variant causing the infection. One case was attributable to the original version of the SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, while 57% of the cases were caused by more highly transmissible so-called variants of concern. The company even added that the interim results suggest the vaccine is effective in younger participants but did not prove efficacy in those above age 60, the age group most at risk for severe COVID-19.

CureVac’s stock plunge 50%

Meanwhile, CureVac’s stock plunged 50 per cent in extended trading after the biopharmaceutical company released preliminary efficacy results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate that failed to meet success criteria. The recent result has now thrown in doubt the potential delivery of hundreds of millions of doses to the European Union. The German pharmaceutical’s shot was also expected to help in low and middle-income countries that have lagged far behind richer nations in the global immunisation drive. 

It is worth mentioning that the EU has already secured up to 405 million doses of the vaccine, of which 180 million are optional. This was also followed by a memorandum of understanding with Germany for another 20 million doses. CureVac, which is backed by investors Dietmar Hopp, the Gates Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as the German government, had aimed to produce up to 300 million doses of the vaccine in 2021 and up to 1 billion doses in 2022.

(Image: Twitter/AP)