CureVac – Where the Pioneering Spirit Meets Expert Knowledge
Like many biopharmaceutical companies, the roots of CureVac lie in academic research. In the late 1990s, Dr. Ingmar Hoerr, Co-founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CureVac, made an unexpected discovery during his doctoral research in biology, which was contrary to the established scientific belief at the time: RNA, which was generally thought to be a very unstable biomolecule, could be administered directly into tissue as a therapeutic vaccine or agent once the biological properties of the molecule were appropriately modified. Furthermore, complicated formulations or molecular packaging were not required to achieve these results.

This discovery led to a new fundamental understanding of the potential of RNA to treat diseases and to generate prophylactic immunity. These fascinating possibilities prompted the company’s three founders, Ingmar Hoerr, Steve Pascolo and Florian von der Mülbe, to found CureVac without investors during the difficult market environment of 2000.

Read here the nature biotechnology article "A successful founder off the beaten path" describing CureVac's way from this first discovery until today.

CureVac - diverse therapeutic possibilities (= Cure) based on revolutionary vaccination (= Vac)

Since the founding of CureVac, their fascination with these new medical possibilities has not waned, and the extraordinary potential of RNA has been demonstrated through preclinical and clinical studies. This dynamic approach has made CureVac what it is today: a biopharmaceutical company with about 400 employees, demonstrating great pioneering development for RNA-based medicines. Their approach is confirmed by the fact that other companies are now entering this sector, observing that RNA has the potential to open up new therapeutic worlds for numerous indications.

In September 2015, CureVac launched its U.S. operations in Cambridge, MA to further advance the development of its proprietary mRNA platform technology and multiple, clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics and vaccines.

To date, CureVac has raised around USD 420 million in equity investments. Its lead investors are dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.