Technology

As a molecule found within all forms of cellular life, messenger RNA (mRNA) is central to biology itself. It quite literally finds itself the messenger between DNA, the body’s genetic blueprint, and proteins, the molecules responsible for the structure, function and regulation of the body. For a long time, mRNA was considered unstable and was relegated to the shadow of its sister molecule DNA — at least, until our founder Dr. Ingmar Hoerr discovered in the late 1990s that mRNA could be stabilized for potential use as a therapeutic molecule. Flash forward to today — CureVac’s mRNA technology has enabled the human body to produce its own medicine.

Convinced that mRNA has unparalleled potential as a drug, CureVac has embarked on an exciting mission and pioneered unexplored territory. With mRNA in our sight, the CureVac method was developed from the cumulation of many years of work, research and nucleotide analysis — all in the name of overcoming the instability of mRNA molecules. We analyzed millions of naturally occurring sequences to develop an incomparable insight into the endogenous RNA language. These findings enabled us to develop an extensive in-house nucleotide sequence library that allows us to optimally assemble the various pieces of the mRNA puzzle for the desired therapeutic use.

Each CureVac product can be thought of as a tailored molecular creation in which we customize the 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions and the open reading frame to ensure translation of the mRNA sequence produces the ideal levels of protein creation in the body. All the different parts of a CureVac-customized mRNA molecule create a packaged product specially optimized for different indications.