INDIANAPOLIS and TÜBINGEN,
Germany, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and
Company (NYSE: LLY) and CureVac AG have announced a global
immuno-oncology collaboration focused on the development and
commercialization of up to five potential cancer vaccine products
based on CureVac's proprietary RNActive® technology. The
companies will use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that targets
tumor neoantigens for a more robust anti-cancer immune
response.
"We are excited to be collaborating with CureVac to discover
what could potentially be the next frontier of cancer medicines,"
said Greg Plowman, M.D., Ph.D., vice
president of oncology research at Lilly. "This collaboration
reinforces Lilly's commitment to delivering life-changing medicines
to treat and cure people living with cancer around the world."
Ingmar Hoerr, Ph.D., co-founder
and CEO of CureVac, stated, "This new collaboration with Lilly is a
testimony to the progress and sophistication of CureVac's RNActive
technology and the potential of mRNA-based therapeutics. We now
have the opportunity to combine forces to further expand the
exciting space of immuno-oncology with the next generation of
cancer therapies. We are thrilled to work with the Lilly team and
hope to advance this new treatment paradigm into the clinic and
ultimately to the market."
Under the terms of the agreement, CureVac will receive an
upfront payment of $50 million and an
equity investment of €45 million. CureVac is also eligible to
receive more than $1.7 billion in
development and commercialization milestones if all five vaccines
are successfully developed, plus tiered royalties on product sales.
Lilly is responsible for target identification, clinical
development and commercialization. CureVac will be responsible for
mRNA design, formulation and manufacturing of clinical supply and
retains the option to co-promote the vaccine products in
Germany.
CureVac's proprietary RNActive technology will be used to
deliver mRNA that ultimately directs the human immune system to
target the encoded neoantigens. These tumor-specific neoantigens
instruct the patient's existing immune system to mount a selective
and potent response to eradicate the cancer.
This transaction is subject to clearance under the
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary
closing conditions. Subject to the closing of this transaction,
Lilly expects to incur an acquired in-process research and
development charge to earnings of approximately $0.03 per share.
About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global
healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life
better for people around the world. We were founded more than a
century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines
that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in
all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover
and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve
the understanding and management of disease, and give back to
communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more
about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and
http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.
About CureVac
CureVac is a leading company in the
field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology with more than 17 years
expertise in handling, optimizing and manufacturing 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, prophylactic
vaccines and molecular therapies.
To date, CureVac has received approximately $370 million (€355 million) in equity investments
including significant investments from SAP founder Dietmar Hopp's dievini and an investment of
$52 million from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation. CureVac has also entered into
collaborations with multinational corporations and organizations,
including Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi Pasteur, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation and IAVI. To learn more about CureVac,
please visit us at www.curevac.com.
C-LLY
Lilly Forward-Looking Statement
This press release
contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about the
benefits of a collaboration between Lilly and CureVac, and reflects
Lilly's current beliefs. However, as with any such
undertaking, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the
process of drug development and commercialization. Among other
things, there can be no guarantee that Lilly will realize the
expected benefits of the collaboration, or that the collaboration
will yield commercially successful products. For a further
discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ from Lilly's expectations, please
see Lilly's most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Lilly undertakes no duty to
update forward-looking statements.
Refer
to:
|
Lauren Zierke;
lauren_zierke@lilly.com; +1-317-277-6524 (Lilly Media)
|
|
Phil Johnson;
johnson_philip_l@lilly.com; +1-317-655-6874 (Lilly
Investors)
|
|
Verena Lauterbach;
verena.lauterbach@curevac.com; 0049-7071-9883-1756
(CureVac Communications)
|
|
Jason Rando;
jrando@tiberend.com; +1 212-375-2665 (CureVac PR Agency
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, New York)
|
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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company