• Patent covers Composition of Matter and Methods of Treatment for vaccine/inhibitor combination for the prevention or treatment of cancer and infectious diseases

TÜBINGEN, Germany – July 20, 2017

CureVac AG, a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of mRNA-based drugs, today announced it has been granted a Notice of Allowance from the European Patent Office (EPO) for its patent application (EP 2958588) entitled, “Combination of Vaccination and Inhibition of the PD-1 Pathway.”

The patent claims both composition of matter and methods of treatment for a vaccine/inhibitor combination comprising an mRNA vaccine and an anti-PD-1 antibody. Further, the patent covers a pharmaceutical composition and a kit of parts comprising such a vaccine/inhibitor combination, particularly for the prevention or treatment of tumor or cancer diseases and infectious diseases.

Dr. Franz-Werner Haas, Chief Corporate Officer of CureVac, stated, “We are convinced there is tremendous potential in combining mRNA-based vaccines with PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of a wide range of cancers and infectious diseases. Anti-PD-1 antibody therapy is becoming standard of care in several cancer indications, and combination approaches are now recognized as optimal for the development of mRNA cancer vaccines. Therefore, this patent adds considerable value to our company and our IP estate. Together with our extensive experience in the development of mRNA-based cancer vaccines this encourages us to advance and expand our RNActive® Cancer Immunotherapy pipeline.”

In total, CureVac holds a broad IP portfolio comprising more than 100 patent families covering different aspects of its mRNA platform enabling the use and production of mRNA across a wide range of treatment modalities and disease indications.