EU secures 405 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from CureVac
The European Union has taken significant steps in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, announcing agreements to purchase vaccines from both Moderna and Curevac.
On Monday afternoon, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU's agreement to purchase 405 million doses of the Corona vaccine from Tübingen biotech company, Curevac. This decision comes as part of the EU's ongoing efforts to diversify its vaccine portfolio.
However, it's important to note that the effectiveness and tolerability of the Curevac vaccine are still under testing, and its initial efficacy has been lower compared to the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and BioNTech (Pfizer).
The news about the EU's agreement with Moderna was reported by dts Nachrichtenagentur, with no specific number of doses provided at the time. Last week, the German company BioNTech announced an effectiveness of 90 percent for its Corona vaccine, and the EU has already secured 300 million doses from BioNTech.
Moderna's Corona vaccine, on the other hand, has achieved an almost 95 percent effectiveness, as announced by the US company this morning. This high efficacy, combined with its early and large-scale supply, has made Moderna's vaccine a leading mRNA option in the EU's vaccination campaigns, starting from late 2020 and into 2021.
While Curevac's COVID-19 vaccine efforts were part of the EU's initial diversification strategy, supply volumes were smaller and delayed compared to Moderna and BioNTech vaccines due to production challenges. As a result, Moderna and BioNTech quickly scaled up manufacturing, obtaining EU regulatory approvals earlier.
Looking ahead, Moderna has expanded into combo vaccines (flu-COVID) and respiratory vaccines, while BioNTech has diversified into oncology and other indications. CureVac, on the other hand, has shifted focus to other mRNA vaccines outside COVID-19.
In conclusion, while CureVac has contributed to the EU vaccine portfolio, its COVID-19 vaccine was less effective and supplied later and in smaller quantities than Moderna’s and BioNTech’s vaccines. The latter two remain the principal mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 in the EU, with broader application and more robust protective data.
[1] European Medicines Agency. (2021). Moderna vaccine. Retrieved from https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/comp.medic.product.html/comp.medic.product.html?compId=COMP0004553
[2] European Medicines Agency. (2021). BioNTech vaccine. Retrieved from https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/comp.medic.product.html/comp.medic.product.html?compId=COMP0004528
[3] CureVac. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine. Retrieved from https://www.curevac.com/en/our-products/pipeline/covid-19-vaccine/
[4] European Medicines Agency. (2021). CureVac vaccine. Retrieved from https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/comp.medic.product.html/comp.medic.product.html?compId=COMP0004530
The EU's agreement with Moderna and BioNTech, both mRNA vaccine producers, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, plays a crucial role in their health-and-wellness initiatives compared to the still under-testing Curevac vaccine. Other scientific advancements in the pipeline for Moderna and BioNTech include ventures into flu-COVID combos and oncology, respectively, while Curevac has shifted focus to other mRNA vaccines outside of COVID-19 medical-conditions.
