• PD-L1 Pathway Now Covered as New Patent Complements the mRNA/Anti-PD-1 Antibodies Combination Patent Granted in July 2017

TÜBINGEN, Germany / BOSTON, MA, USA – April 16, 2019

CureVac AG, a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of mRNA-based drugs, announced today it has been granted a patent from the European Patent Office entitled, “Combination of Vaccination and Inhibition of the PD-1 Pathway” (EP 3292873).

The patent broadly claims both composition of matter and methods of treatment for a vaccine/inhibitor combination comprised of a mRNA vaccine and an anti-PD-L1 antibody. Further, the patent covers a pharmaceutical composition comprising such a vaccine/inhibitor combination, particularly for the prevention or treatment of tumor or cancer diseases and infectious diseases. This grant complements the patent granted in Europe in July 2017 (EP 2958588) covering the combination of a mRNA vaccine and an anti-PD-1 antibody. Similarly, in the U.S., CureVac has already been granted two patents for the combination of codon-optimized mRNA vaccines with anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies.

This PD-L1 patent bolsters our strategy as we expand our pipeline of oncology assets in the clinic.

Dan Menichella

Anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies are inhibitors of so-called “checkpoints” – key regulators of the immune system that tumors use to shield themselves from cancer killing T cells.

“Today’s patent grant, along with our other broad oncology and prophylactic vaccine patents, affirm CureVac’s industry-leading position in the mRNA space. The Company is developing tumor vaccine candidates and intratumoral approaches for indications where anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 treatments have been approved,” said Dan Menichella, Chief Executive Officer of CureVac. “This PD-L1 patent bolsters our strategy as we expand our pipeline of oncology assets in the clinic.”

CureVac’s broad IP portfolio is among the most comprehensive in the industry, with 114 patent families, 1123 patent family members and 207 granted patents.