CureVac Granted Patent Claiming the Combination of mRNA Vaccines With Anti-PD-L1 Antibodies

CureVac AG recently announced it has been granted a patent from the European Patent Office entitled, Combination of Vaccination and Inhibition of the PD-1 Pathway (EP 3292873).

The patent broadly claims both composition of matter and methods of treatment for a vaccine/inhibitor combination comprised of a mRNA vaccine and an anti-PD-L1 antibody. Further, the patent covers a pharmaceutical composition comprising such a vaccine/inhibitor combination, particularly for the prevention or treatment of tumor or cancer diseases and infectious diseases. This grant complements the patent granted in Europe in July 2017 (EP 2958588) covering the combination of a mRNA vaccine and an anti-PD-1 antibody. Similarly, in the US, CureVac has already been granted two patents for the combination of codon-optimized mRNA vaccines with anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies.

Anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 antibodies are inhibitors of so-called “checkpoints” – key regulators of the immune system that tumors use to shield themselves from cancer killing T cells.

“Today’s patent grant, along with our other broad oncology and prophylactic vaccine patents, affirm CureVac’s industry-leading position in the mRNA space. The company is developing tumor vaccine candidates and intratumoral approaches for indications where anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 treatments have been approved,” said Dan Menichella, Chief Executive Officer of CureVac. “This PD-L1 patent bolsters our strategy as we expand our pipeline of oncology assets in the clinic.”

CureVac’s broad IP portfolio is among the most comprehensive in the industry, with 114 patent families, 1123 patent family members and 207 granted patents.

CureVac is a leading company in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology with more than 19 years’ expertise in handling and optimizing this versatile molecule for medical purposes. The principle of CureVac’s proprietary technology is the use of mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce its own proteins capable of fighting a wide range of diseases. The company applies its technologies for the development of cancer therapies, antibody therapies, the treatment of rare diseases, and prophylactic vaccines. To date, CureVac has received approximately $420 million (?400 million) in equity investments, including significant investments from SAP founder Dietmar Hopp’s dievini and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. CureVac has also entered into collaborations with multinational corporations and organizations, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly & Co, CRISPR Therapeutics, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others. For more information, visit www.curevac.com.