Developed in collaboration with GSK, CV0501 is based on CureVac’s second-generation mRNA backbone and is designed to specifically protect against the Omicron variant. It is one of two second-generation candidates now in clinical trials from the German mRNA specialist, which withdrew its first-generation COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. Data from these two early-stage clinical trials will help CureVac select the best second-generation candidate for further development.
“Licensed COVID-19 vaccines that encode for the original virus variant, continue to protect against severe disease and hospitalization, but they are increasingly challenged by immune evasion of new variants such as Omicron,” said CureVac interim Chief Development Officer Dr. Ulrike Gnad-Vogt. “As we extend the clinical studies of our second-generation backbone into modified mRNA, targeting the Omicron variant will further explore the full potential of our improved second-generation design as a booster vaccination for a relevant variant.”
CureVac’s two second-generation candidates
CV0501 is CureVac’s first COVID-19 vaccine candidate applying chemically modified mRNA from the COVID-19 vaccine. It encodes for the prefusion stabilized full-length spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and is formulated within lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). The vaccine was designed with specifically optimized non-coding regions to exhibit improved mRNA translation for increased and extended protein expression compared to the first-generation mRNA backbone.
The CV0501 study follows the start of a Phase 1 study in March 2022 that evaluates an unmodified second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate CV2CoV, encoding for the original virus variant.