CureVac final results: German COVID-19 vaccine is only 48% effective

The vaccine developed by the German laboratory CureVac is only 48% effective against covid-19, a level well below other already approved messenger RNA immunizers, based on the full results of a large-scale clinical trial, the company said on Wednesday.

In the trial participants, “the CVnCoV vaccine prototype demonstrated an overall efficacy of 48% (83 cases in the vaccinated group, 145 in the placebo group) against covid-19 disease, regardless of its severity”, reports a press release from the laboratory. , which signed an important contract with the European Union.

The result was predictable after the publication in mid-June of disheartening interim analyzes of clinical trials.s. The lab said at the time that this was due to the rapid increase in newer variants.

CureVac reports that their products perform slightly better in the 18-60 age group, with an effectiveness of 53%.

In this group, the protective effect against moderate and severe forms of the disease reaches 77%, and is 100% in the prevention of hospitalizations and deaths, according to the press release.

But “in participants over the age of 60, who represent 9% of the cases studied, the available data did not make it possible to determine the efficacy in a statistically clear manner”.

Despite these results, CureVac says it believes its vaccine “makes a valuable contribution to public health by fully protecting study participants aged 18 to 60 against hospitalization or death., and with an effectiveness rate of 77% against the moderate and severe progression of the disease “, according to the executive director of the laboratory Franz-Werner Haas, quoted in the text.

From now on, it is the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is already analyzing the drug, which must give or not its marketing authorization.

The development of CureVac is based on Messenger RNA technology, the same as that used by the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna laboratories, which achieve 95% efficiency.

The firm was one of the first to enter the vaccine race and until recently I was planning to launch an effective drug on the market in May or June of this year.

The head of vaccine strategy at the European Medicines Agency, Marco Cavaleri, called for caution even if the drug does not reach the 50% minimum efficacy required.

“This does not mean that we will not study the dataset. We will look at the benefits and risks demonstrated by the vaccine“To make a decision on the approval.

Haas assured they would continue to work with the vaccine until they have “a final evaluation” and hinted that their drug could act as a booster for people who have already received two doses of other vaccines. .

The European Commission has signed a contract with the Tübingen laboratory (southern Germany) to acquire 405 million doses.

The laboratory’s announcement “has no impact on the pace of our vaccination campaign”commented the German Ministry of Health.

Founded in 2000, CureVac has as its main shareholder the German millionaire Dietmar Hopp, co-founder of the programming giant SAP.

End of June 2020, the German government bought a 23% stake in the laboratory for 300 million euros, following an attempt by US authorities to obtain the exclusive rights to a potential Curevac vaccine.

(With information from AFP)

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