Curevo Vaccine – a privately-held clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccines with improved tolerability – announced the closing of a $110 million Series B round to advance the development of amezosvatein, its vaccine for shingles. Leading the round is new investor Medicxi (a European biotech-focused investment firm). And joining Medicxi is an international group of investment funds, including OrbiMed, HBM Healthcare Investments, and Sanofi Ventures, along with existing investors RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Adjuvant Capital, and founding investor GC Biopharma.
Concurrent with the round, Moncef Slaoui, PhD, will join Curevo as Board Chair. Dr. Slaoui was most recently the Chief Scientific Advisor to Operation Warp Speed during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping deliver vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. And he spent nearly 30 years at GlaxoSmithKline, during which he helped shape its vaccine business by contributing to the creation of numerous new vaccines including Shingrix (shingles), Cervarix (HPV-induced cervical cancer), Mosquirix (malaria), Rotarix (rotavirus gastroenteritis), and Synflorix (pneumococcal disease).
Also joining Curevo’s Board of Directors will be Giovanni Mariggi, PhD (co-founder and Partner at Medicxi), an experienced infectious disease investor and board member.
Tal Zaks, MD/PhD, will join Curevo’s Board of Directors on behalf of OrbiMed. Dr. Zaks is the former Chief Medical Officer of Moderna, where he led the development of their mRNA vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. He had previously held senior leadership positions in drug development at GSK and Sanofi.
KEY QUOTES:
“This Series B round will fund the extension of our successful Phase 2 program into an additional 640 participants, including the key population of adults over age 70, to finalize dose selection ahead of the Phase 3 program. Designed based upon feedback from regulators and other stakeholders, this short extension trial will begin mid-2025 and serve to set the company for clinical, strategic, and regulatory success.”
– Curevo’s CEO, George Simeon, MBA/MPH
“I have been collaborating with the Curevo team for several weeks now. I’m very excited to work with them to help perfect shingles vaccination, adding good tolerability to the exceptional efficacy achieved by the current vaccine. The data so far show Curevo’s adjuvant technology has the attributes to succeed in this endeavor.”
– Dr. Slaoui
“Patients, doctors, and payors are very clear a new shingles vaccine like amezosvatein would be welcome in the global marketplace. Amezosvatein’s activity and improved tolerability profile could allow it to be a significant product in the shingles vaccines market. We are excited to support Curevo’s plan with a streamlined path to approval.”
– Dr. Mariggi
“OrbiMed has a long history of investing in biotech companies like Curevo seeking to improve healthcare outcomes while creating long-term shareholder value. The fact amezosvatein contains an optimized version of the TLR4 agonist with a known mechanism of action reduces biological risk while providing the competitive advantage of potentially improved tolerability, which should position it as the first choice for people who want to be protected from shingles.”
– Dr. Zaks
