Image Credits: Gesundheitsindustrie BW
German biotech CureVac NV said on Wednesday its COVID-19 vaccine was only 47% effective during a late-stage trial, missing the study’s main goal and throwing unsure the potential delivery of many many doses to the European Union.
The disappointing efficacy of the shot referred to as CVnCoV emerged from an interim analysis supported 134 COVID-19 cases within the study with about 40,000 volunteers in Europe and Latin America.
The stakes for CureVac and prospective buyers of its vaccine in Europe had risen after age limits were imposed on the utilization of the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines thanks to a link to extremely rare but potentially fatal clotting disorders.
CureVac’s shot was also expected to assist in low and middle-income countries that have lagged far behind richer nations within the global immunization drive.
As CureVac’s only major supply deals, the European Union in November secured up to 405 million doses of the vaccine, of which 180 million are optional. That was followed by a memorandum of understanding with Germany for an additional 20 million doses.
CureVac’s US traded shares fell 50.6 per cent to $46.81 in after-hours trading following publication of the info. The company said a minimum of 13 virus variants accounted for the infections among the study population.
Out of the reported COVID-19 cases within the trial, 124 were sequenced to spot the variant causing the infection, it said. One case was due to the first version of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, while 57% of the cases were caused by more highly transmissible so-called variants of concern.
“We aim for availability of a second-generation COVID-19 vaccine as early because the last half of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals,” the statement said.