In a significant consolidation within the messenger RNA therapeutics space, BioNTech has reached an agreement to acquire its rival CureVac through an all-stock transaction valued at $1.25 billion. The deal, announced on Thursday, comes just weeks before the two companies were scheduled to meet in German court over patent disputes related to mRNA technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, CureVac shareholders will receive BioNTech shares worth approximately $5.46 for each CureVac share they hold, resulting in CureVac stockholders owning between 4% and 6% of BioNTech following the transaction’s completion.
The acquisition resolves ongoing patent litigation between the two companies, which began when CureVac filed suit against BioNTech claiming infringement of four patents. The European Patent Office had previously upheld two of CureVac’s patents, with a trial scheduled for July 1 in a Dusseldorf regional court to determine potential infringement. A separate U.S. trial was set to begin September 8 in Virginia.
Industry analysts suggest that avoiding potential courtroom losses may have been a key driver for the deal. According to Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat, BioNTech could have faced up to $3 billion in royalty payments if CureVac had prevailed in the patent litigation. Raffat noted that BioNTech likely determined that acquiring CureVac outright would be less costly than a potential cash settlement.
The two companies share a complex history in the COVID-19 vaccine race. While BioNTech partnered with Pfizer to develop the first approved COVID-19 vaccine, CureVac’s vaccine candidate failed to demonstrate sufficient efficacy and was ultimately abandoned. Since then, CureVac has pivoted its focus to cancer research, selling most of its influenza and COVID-19 vaccine rights to GSK.
The acquisition also strengthens BioNTech’s oncology portfolio. Both companies have prioritized cancer research, with CureVac’s programs including a brain cancer vaccine that has produced early clinical data and a lung cancer immunotherapy recently approved for human trials. BioNTech has already established itself in the oncology space with various programs spanning cell therapies, mRNA vaccines, and bispecific antibodies.
However, Leerink Partners analyst Mani Foroohar suggests that CureVac’s early-stage oncology pipeline required a development partner to effectively compete in personalized cancer vaccines, making BioNTech an ideal acquirer given its established position in the field. Raffat’s analysis indicates that the deal places minimal value on CureVac’s pipeline, suggesting the patent litigation resolution was the primary consideration.
The transaction represents a significant shift in the mRNA
therapeutics landscape, combining two pioneering companies in the field. While BioNTech emerged as a success story from the COVID-19 pandemic through its partnership with Pfizer, CureVac’s trajectory has been more complicated. Despite early promise and speculation about potential U.S. government interest in acquiring the company during the pandemic’s early days, CureVac ultimately had to redirect its focus after its COVID-19 vaccine development efforts proved unsuccessful.
This consolidation marks another chapter in the evolution of the mRNA therapeutics sector, as companies continue to explore applications beyond COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in oncology. The combination of BioNTech’s established presence in the field with CureVac’s research programs could accelerate development efforts in cancer therapeutics while resolving long-standing intellectual property disputes between the two companies.
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