Tesla Partner CureVac Says Will Find 'Sweet Spot' For COVID-19 Vaccine Despite Disappointing Data

CureVac N.V.’s CVAC Chief Financial Officer Pierre Kemula is optimistic its COVID-19 vaccine could still be offered to certain age groups or as a booster, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

What Happened: Kemula told FT the German vaccine developer is still hopeful the jab could be offered to certain age groups or as a booster after data from CureVac’s late-stage trial of its international first-generation vaccine candidate showed that it had only 47% efficacy.

“There is a lot of need for vaccines out there,” Kemula said, adding it will work with the agencies to find a “sweet spot” for the vaccine usage, as per the report. 

Why It Matters: Expectations were running high for CureVac, in which the German government bought a 23% stake to allay concerns it could move to the United States. CureVac’s vaccine program disappointment comes at a time when a handful of vaccines are already in the market through the emergency authorization route.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently revised vaccine review guidelines, deciding not to entertain emergency use applications. Instead, the agency is now contemplating review only through the full approval process route, necessitating more detailed data.

CureVac has a collaboration with Tesla Inc TSLA for vaccine printers. In April, Elon Musk in a tweet suggested CureVac was “a few months away from regulatory approval,” but deleted it soon after.

Price Action: CureVac shares dived 39% to close at $57.83 on Thursday.