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 The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)said its
backing will help CureVac's work on a prototype of its RNA Printer
product - a transportable, automated printing facility for types of
a molecule known as messenger RNA.
While traditional vaccines use parts of live or inactivated
pathogens to generate an immune response, new technology being
developed uses the mRNA molecule to transport genetic information
from the DNA into a cell, instructing it to produce a specific
protein or antigen to induce an immune response.
Epidemics of infectious diseases such as Ebola, Zika and Lassa can
be unpredictable and fast-moving, yet developing vaccines against
them can currently take 10 years or more.
CEPI, which was set up at the start of 2017, aims to dramatically
speed up the development of vaccines against these pathogens, as
well as new and unknown diseases - collectively known as Disease X.
Under the three-year deal with CEPI, CureVac will use its mRNA
platform to develop potential vaccines against Lassa Fever, Rabies
and Yellow Fever.
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If preclinical tests for the three diseases are successful, two of
the vaccine candidates will be developed through early stage safety
trials in people.
"CureVac's vaccine platform could be a game-changer, radically
improving our ability to respond to the emergence of Disease X,"
CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett said in coalition statement.
The next epidemic could emerge "very suddenly and have deadly
consequences", he said. "We've seen this happen with Ebola, MERS
coronavirus, Zika, and countless other diseases. That's why we're
striving to develop rapid-response vaccine platforms to defend
against these unknown pathogens."
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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