GlaxoSmithKline will spend $163.67 million to buy a 10% stake in German biotech company CureVac, in a collaboration focused on the use of mRNA vaccines to prevent and treat infectious diseases.
The collaboration specifically applies to the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of up to five mRNA-based vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting infectious disease pathogens. The deal also involves GSK investing $34k for manufacturing capacity reservation, upon certification of CureVac’s commercial scale manufacturing facility currently under construction in Germany.
For CureVac, the deal points to a valuation of more than $1.6 billion as the biotech prepares for a stock market launch this year.
Back in March, it was reported that CureVac rejected a proposal by the Trump administration to purchase the exclusive rights to a coronavirus vaccine. To safeguard Germany's ownership of the country's two coronavirus vaccine developers — CureVac and BioNTech — the federal government gave itself new powers in May to veto foreign takeover bids for health care companies.
Then, in June, the Berlin government announced it will pay $337.4 million to acquire a 23% stake in CureVac.
Read the recent press release