Pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly agreed on Wednesday to invest €45m ($53.3m) in Germany-based RNA therapy developer CureVac as part of a strategic partnership deal that could be worth up to $1.8bn.
Spun out of Tübingen University in 2000, CureVac is developing therapies that exploit messenger RNA, the molecules in cells that build proteins and carry genetic information from the DNA to the ribosomes responsible for biological protein synthesis.
The partnership will involve the development of up to five cancer vaccines based on CureVac’s technology, and includes an upfront payment from Eli Lilly of $50m in addition to the equity funding.
The companies aim to use CureVac’s technology to direct the body’s immune system to target tumour neoantigens, and CureVac could eventually receive more than $1.7bn in additional cash if a range of milestones are met in the project.
Eli Lilly will be responsible for clinical development and commercialisation, while CureVac will focus on the design, formulation and manufacturing of clinical supply.
CureVac closed its last funding round at almost $140m in in November 2016, after LBBW Asset Management Investmentgesellshaft and state-owned financial services firm Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg invested $29.5m.
The round’s initial tranche of $110m closed in November 2015 and was led by Baillie Gifford with contributions from Chartwave, Coppel Family, Northview, Sigma Group, Dievini Hopp BioTech and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The company has also raised money through several strategic partnerships, including a 2011 deal with pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur and biotech company In-Cell-Art that was backed by the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency with $33.1m of funding.
CureVac agreed to a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim in 2014 worth a potential $466m. Other investors in the company include venture capital firms DH Capital, OH Beteiligungen and Leonhard Ventures.
Ingmar Hoerr, CEO of CureVac, said: “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.”