Sanofi Pasteur and CureVac agree vaccine licensing deal

Sanofi Pasteur and CureVac are to ally on the development of a mRNA-based vaccine against an undisclosed pathogen.

The exclusive licensing deal is part of a wider collaboration between the companies from 2011. CureVac met all pre-agreed milestones and acceptance criteria relating to the older agreement, and Sanofi Pasteur has exercised an option to take the collaboration further.

Under the newly-agreed terms, Sanofi Pasteur will fund all research, development, manufacturing and commercialisation activities and will have exclusive worldwide marketing rights to the RNActive vaccine, with CureVac receiving an upfront payment and milestone-based fees and royalties.

RNActive vaccines are based on optimised, antigen-encoding and complexed mRNA molecules that stimulate the immune system and have shown promise against infectious diseases and cancer.

Nicolas Burdin, head of discovery research at Sanofi Pasteur, said: "Accessing CureVac's innovative mRNA technology may allow Sanofi Pasteur to exploit a platform that can be more broadly applicable across indications to develop vaccines."

Sanofi Pasteur is one of the world's leading developers of vaccines, distributing more than one billion vaccine doses annually.