QIA et al. invest $162m in CureVac

Harriet Matthews
22 July 2020

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The Qatar Investment Authority, along with new and existing investors, has backed a $126m round for Germany-based CureVac, a messenger RNA (mRNA) therapy developer that is currently developing a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

CureVac received an investment of $343m from the German federal government via the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau in June 2020, as reported, amounting to a 23% stake in the company. GlaxoSmithKline has also invested $171m in the CureVac and has acquired a stake of around 10%.

Existing investors in the company include the Dievini Hopp Biotech Holding and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dievini Hopp held an 80% stake in the business in June 2020, the Financial Times reported.

According to press reports, CureVac is currently planning an IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company is valued at $1.6bn, according to Reuters. CureVac received total funding of $640m in this latest round.

Previous funding
Dievini Hopp invested €27.6m in CureVac in May 2010. The firm also provided funding of €80m in September 2012.

In 2015, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invested €46m in CureVac. In November of the same year, Baillie Gifford led a round for CureVac, with participation from new investors Chartwave, the Coppel family, Northview and Sigma Group. Existing backers Dievini Hopp and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also took part.

Company
CureVac has developed an mRNA medical technology platform that the company claims has potential for use in vaccines and other mRNA-based therapies, based on its clinical studies. CureVac is based in Tübingen and also has operations in Frankfurt and Boston. It was founded in 2000 and employs 400 people.

People
CureVac – Ingmar Hoerr (co-founder, CEO).