Latest news with #CureVac
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CureVac Soars 41% in a Month on a $1.25B Buyout Offer From BioNTech
Shares of CureVac N.V. CVAC have skyrocketed 40.8% in a month after the company signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by BioNTech SE BNTX in an all-stock transaction last week. Per the agreement, each CVAC share will be exchanged for approximately $5.46 worth of BNTX American Depositary Shares (ADS), implying a total equity value of around $1.25 billion for CureVac. The consideration per ADS represents a premium of 55% to CVAC's three-month volume-weighted average price of approximately $3.53 as of June 11, 2025. Subject to the closing of the transaction, CureVac shareholders are expected to own between 4% and 6% of BioNTech. The closing of the transaction, expected in 2025, is based on the fulfillment of certain customary closing conditions and required regulatory approvals. Year to date, shares of CureVac have surged 61% against the industry's 4.8% decline. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The acquisition of CureVac will help BioNTech enhance its capabilities in advancing investigational mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies by expanding its research, development, manufacturing and commercialization infrastructure. It complements BioNTech's existing strengths in mRNA design, delivery technologies and production. BNTX's Comirnaty is the first approved mRNA-based vaccine for COVID-19, which was developed in collaboration with Pfizer. Strategically, the deal will allow BioNTech to expand beyond its existing oncology pipeline and focus on its newer programs across several tumor types, including key assets like its mRNA-based cancer candidates and BNT327, a PD-L1xVEGF-A bispecific antibody. We remind the investors that earlier in June, BioNTech signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Bristol Myers BMY for the global co-development and co-commercialization of BNTX's BNT327, as monotherapy and in combinations, across numerous solid tumor types. BMY will pay $1.5 billion upfront, with $2 billion in additional payments through 2028 and up to $7.6 billion in milestones. BioNTech and Bristol Myers will equally share costs and profits. BNT327 is in late-stage, potentially registrational clinical studies for two different lung cancer indications. Another phase III study evaluating the candidate in triple-negative breast cancer is planned to start by the end of 2025. Early data show promising synergy in targeting two key cancer pathways. CureVac N.V. price-consensus-chart | CureVac N.V. Quote CureVac currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the biotech sector is Immunocore IMCR, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. In the past 60 days, loss per share estimates for Immunocore's 2025 have improved from $1.50 to 86 cents. Loss per share estimates for 2026 have narrowed from $1.68 to $1.33 during the same period. IMCR stock has gained 7.5% year to date. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMY) : Free Stock Analysis Report BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (BNTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report CureVac N.V. (CVAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Immunocore Holdings PLC Sponsored ADR (IMCR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BioNTech buys mRNA, courtroom rival CureVac in all-stock deal
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. COVID vaccine maker BioNTech is buying rival CureVac, announcing Thursday an all-stock deal weeks before the two companies were due to face off in a German court over potentially billions of dollars worth of royalties related to intellectual property on messenger RNA drugs. Per deal terms, each CureVac share will be exchanged for about $5.46 worth of BioNTech's U.S.-listed shares, valuing the company at $1.25 billion. Upon the deal's close, CureVac shareholders will own between 4% and 6% of BioNTech. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, BioNTech and CureVac were among the companies racing to develop the first coronavirus vaccines. BioNTech, however, partnered with Pfizer and won approval of the first COVID-19 shot, while CureVac's program never made it to market. The two companies have since been embroiled in patent litigation. CureVac was a leading candidate to develop the first COVID-19 vaccine, launching rumors, later denied, that the U.S. government might even buy the company or its research. But while BioNTech and fellow mRNA drugmaker Moderna succeeded in making vaccines that saved millions of lives and earned billions of dollars in revenue, CureVac fell short. Its initial project wasn't effective enough at preventing sickness, prompting it to scrap development. A year later, CureVac sued BioNTech, claiming it infringed four patents. CureVac has since changed course, selling off most rights to influenza and COVID-19 vaccines to partner GSK and focusing on cancer instead. But its legal spat with BioNTech has lingered. The European Patent Office had upheld two CureVac patents, and a trial in a Dusseldorf regional court was set on July 1 to determine if BioNTech had infringed on them. A separate trial in the U.S. was scheduled to begin Sept. 8 in Virginia. Some Wall Street analysts, as a result, speculated that BioNTech's primary purpose is buying CureVac is to sidestep the risk of a loss in court. A single-digit percentage royalty awarded to CureVac could've cost BioNTech as much as $3 billion, Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat wrote in a note to clients. 'It seems to us that [BioNTech] assessed the cost of a cash settlement as substantially greater than the cost of buying [CureVac] outright,' Raffat wrote. The deal could also help BioNTech further its oncology ambitions. Like CureVac, BioNTech has made cancer research a top priority. It's invested in a variety of programs, from cell therapies to mRNA vaccines and a coveted type of bispecific antibody. Some are in advanced testing. CureVac's cancer vaccines are in earlier phases of development. A brain cancer shot has delivered early clinical data, while a lung cancer immunotherapy was cleared in April for human testing. The deal should help CureVac because of 'the early stage of the oncology pipeline and the need for a development partner to effectively compete in personalized cancer vaccines – which [BioNTech] is well positioned to execute,' wrote Leerink Partners analyst Mani Foroohar. Raffat, of Evercore ISI, however, wrote that the deal ascribes 'very little value' to CureVac's pipeline. Recommended Reading Recursion to acquire two Canadian drug discovery startups Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BioNTech takes over CureVac in $1.25 billion all-stock deal among COVID rivals
By Ludwig Burger (Reuters) -German biotech firm BioNTech has agreed to acquire domestic peer CureVac for about $1.25 billion worth of BioNTech shares, it said on Thursday, to boost its work on new mRNA-based cancer treatments. Under the deal, which pairs two former rivals in the race to develop COVID-19 vaccines, CureVac shareholders stand to receive a premium of 55% over the three-month average share price, and leave them with a stake of about 4%-6% in BioNTech, the suitor said. CureVac's Frankfurt-listed shares surged 27% to a five-month high, valuing the company at 1.04 billion euros ($1.2 billion), while BioNTech shares were down 2% by 1237 GMT. The deal further underscores BioNTech's long-term pursuit of new cancer treatments as it aims to show that its success as Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine partner, which left its balance sheet flush with billions of euros in cash, was not a fluke. "With the acquisition, BioNTech aims to strengthen the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of investigational mRNA-based cancer immunotherapy," it said. CureVac opted to focus on oncology about a year ago when it agreed to sell its remaining influenza and COVID-19 vaccine development to alliance partner GSK. It had previously cut jobs as it sought to move beyond its failure to develop an mRNA-based COVID vaccine during the pandemic. GERMAN BIOTECH CHAMPION The agreement is also set to end CureVac's years-long legal fight over alleged mRNA patent infringement by BioNTech and for a share of vaccine revenues, where CureVac has made little progress. CureVac shares were worth as much as 120 euros in December 2020 on hopes it would develop a COVID vaccine, more than double their initial public offer value in August of that year. They are now trading at 4.65 euros. BioNTech won a major shot in the arm for its cancer drug activities last week when Bristol Myers Squibb agreed to pay up to $11.1 billion to jointly develop a next-generation cancer immunotherapy that could take on rival Merck & Co's best-selling drug Keytruda. Each CureVac share will be exchanged for about $5.46 in BioNTech American depositary shares, or ADS, but subject to a so-called collar mechanism, BioNTech said. If the 10-day volume-weighted average price of BioNTech ADS shortly before the closing of the offer exceeds $126.55, the exchange ratio would be 0.04318, and if the price is lower than $84.37, the exchange ratio would be 0.06476. BioNTech said the deal was supported by SAP SE co-founder and football investor Dietmar Hopp, who holds a stake of about 37% in CureVac. The German government, owner of about 13% in CureVac for its financial backing during the pandemic, said it welcomed in principle the creation of a "new German biotech champion", and that it would review the offer. ($1 = 0.8624 euros) (Additional reporting by Christian Kraemer; Editing by Friederike Heine, Jan Harvey and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Bloomberg
12-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: GameStop, BioNTech, Oracle
On this edition of Stock Movers: - GameStop (GME) shares plummeted today. The company had two developments. First, GameStop is focused on growing its trading card business. That is according to CEO Ryan Cohen. The business of Pokémon and sports trading cards 'is in line with our heritage,' Cohen said. 'It fits our trade-in model, it appeals to our core customer base and it's deeply embedded in physical retail.' The second development is GameStop plans to offer $1.75 billion worth of convertible bonds, which would make the video-game retailer one of the year's biggest issuers of the equity-linked securities. - BioNTech (BNTX) agreed to buy former Covid vaccine rival CureVac NV (CVAC) for about $1.25 billion in an all-stock transaction that will boost its growing oncology business. CureVac investors will get approximately $5.46 in BioNTech shares for each CureVac one, the companies said Thursday. The price represents a 34% premium to CureVac's closing share price on Wednesday. CureVac shareholders will own between 4% and 6% of BioNTech once the deal closes. Shares of BioNTech are flat while CureVac shares surged. - Oracle (ORCL) shares soared to a record high after the software maker projected a 70% gain in cloud infrastructure sales this fiscal year, giving a bullish outlook for the closely watched business. The company, long known for its database software, has been gaining traction in its effort to become a major player in the business of cloud computing — renting out computing power and storage — by targeting clients focused on artificial intelligence work. Earlier this year, it announced a joint venture dubbed Stargate to provide OpenAI with massive sums of computing power.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BioNTech bolsters mRNA pipeline with $1.25bn CureVac acquisition
BioNTech has agreed to acquire mRNA specialist CureVac for approximately $1.25bn, as the big pharma company amps up its strategy to offer cancer treatments using the modality. According to the deal, each CureVac share will be exchanged for approximately $5.46 in BioNTech American depositary shares (ADS). This gives an aggregate equity value of around $1.25bn for CureVac. The transaction will see BioNTech assimilate its former rival in the Covid-19 vaccine arena. The pharma companies said the deal will 'bring together two highly complementary companies based in Germany' that can 'fully realise the transformative potential of mRNA medicine'. Shares in BioNTech rose 0.17% at market open on 12 July, reaching a price of $105.64, following the announcement. The pharma company has a market cap of $25.3bn. The agreement underscores BioNTech's strategy to become a dominant player in mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies. The company has struggled with revenue in recent years as demand waned for Covid-19-related products. However, it could be well positioned to harness the oncology market given its strong expertise in mRNA technology – a modality that has already showed promise in clinical trials. 'BioNTech aims to strengthen the research, development, manufacturing, and commercialisation of investigational mRNA-based cancer immunotherapy,' BioNTech said in a statement accompanying the acquisition. In July 2024, CureVac streamlined its focus towards oncology after selling influenza and Covid-19 vaccine development to GSK in a deal worth nearly €1.5bn. This is the second big oncology deal for BioNTech this month, after MSD licensed a bispecific cancer drug from the company in a deal rising to a potential $11bn. BioNTech's CEO Ugur Sahin said: 'This transaction is another building block in BioNTech's oncology strategy and an investment in the future of cancer medicine. 'We intend to bring together complementary capabilities and leverage technologies with the goal of advancing the development of innovative and transformative cancer treatments and establishing new standards of care for various types of cancer in the coming years.' BioNTech also bolstered its cancer platform in November 2024 when it acquired oncology biotech Biotheus for an upfront payment of $800m. "BioNTech bolsters mRNA pipeline with $1.25bn CureVac acquisition" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
