PRESS RELEASE: CureVac launches Phase IIa mRNA Vaccine Trial in Prostate Cancer

* First evaluation of CureVac's RNActive® vaccine technology in 
humans 
* German authorities approve CV9103 for Phase IIa trial 

Tuebingen (Germany), November 2, 2009. CureVac GmbH, the mRNA vaccine 
company, today  announced that  the German  authorities approved  the 
start of the Phase IIa trial  in Prostate Cancer after assessment  of 
the first safety data of  lead candidate CV9103, a  RNActive®-derived 
mRNA vaccine. Results so far from the Phase I show CV9103 to be  safe 
and well tolerated. 

The drug candidate CV9103, a first in class molecule, will be further 
developed for  the  treatment  of  patients  with  hormone-refractory 
metastatic prostate cancer.  The Paul-Ehrlich  Institut has  approved 
the start  of the  Phase  IIa with  CV9103  to further  evaluate  the 
safety, tolerability and biological activity of the vaccine.  CureVac 
has now  launched  the Phase  IIa  in  21 patients  with  CV9103  via 
intradermal injection (multiple-dose). First results from this  trial 
are expected by H2 2010. 

CV9103 is the most advanced  candidate in CureVac's vaccine  pipeline 
of  RNActive®-derived  molecules  for  the  active  immunotherapy  of 
cancer. The vaccine  is comprised of  modified mRNA molecules  coding 
for four different antigens expressed by prostate cancer cells. 

"This is  the first  evaluation of  CureVac's RNActive®  platform  in 
humans," said Ingmar  Hoerr, Managing  Director of  CureVac. "We  are 
confident that mRNA  vaccines have  the potential to  become a  novel 
class of broadly applicable therapeutic agents addressing large areas 
of immunotherapy.  In  combination with  the  attractive  preclinical 
profile the  results we  have  seen in  the  Phase I  study  strongly 
support our  plans  to  develop  CV9130 as  a  safe  and  efficacious 
treatment of prostate cancer." 


### 

About CureVac 
CureVac GmbH  is  a  biopharmaceutical company  specializing  in  the 
prophylactic and  therapeutic application  of messenger  RNA  (mRNA). 
CureVac's lead programme  is dedicated to  the development of  tumour 
vaccines and active immunotherapies  (based on its  RNActive®-derived 
molecules) for the  treatment of prostate  cancer and non-small  cell 
lung cancer. 

Currently, there  are two  candidates in  clinical stage:  CV9103  to 
treat prostate  cancer, which  is in  the U.S.  and Europe  the  most 
common cancer and the  second leading cause of  cancer death in  men. 
Additionally, CV9201, to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), is 
being tested in  Germany and  Switzerland. Lung  cancer affects  more 
than 1.4 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of  cancer 
death. 

CureVac, a  spin-off  from  the Tuebingen  University,  Germany,  was 
established in December 2000 and  is headquartered in Tuebingen  with 
clinical development facilities  in Frankfurt.  Since its  inception, 
the Company has  raised approximately EUR  38 million. The  principal 
investor of the company is dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH&Co.  KG, 
a venture capital firm owned by the Hopp family. 

RNActive®, RNAdjuvant®, PUREmessenger®  are registered trademarks  of 
CureVac GmbH. 


About CureVac's mRNA-derived Technology Platforms 
Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is  a genetic template for  protein 
synthesis. It delivers the information  encoded by genes from DNA  to 
ribosomes  where  the  information  is  translated  into   individual 
proteins. Natural  RNA is  an unstable  biomolecule that  is  rapidly 
digested in the  human body.  As a result,  its potential  role as  a 
therapeutic has been overlooked for decades. 

CureVac has proved it is possible  to modify mRNA making it  suitable 
for  therapeutic   purposes   and   maintaining   its   physiological 
properties. CureVac's RNActive®-derived customized mRNA molecules are 
used  to  encode  different  tumour-associated  antigens  which   are 
expressed by cells residing in the  upper layers of the skin.  Hence, 
the immune system  will recognize these  antigens on presentation  to 
dendritic cells and  react by forming  both antigen-specific  T-cells 
and humoral antibodies. 

Building on its  unique expertise  from many years  of RNA  research, 
molecular design  and  RNA  production the  Company  has  established 
several proprietary technologies, namely: 

* RNActive® for the design and formulation of modified mRNA serving 
a broad range of applications like therapeutic and prophylactic 
vaccines 

* RNAdjuvant® as an immune stimulant to improve the efficacy of 
prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines, 

* PUREmessenger® for the cGMP-production of full-length mRNA within 
a short timeframe. 

The combination of these technologies  enables the Company to  design 
and manufacture mRNA for a broad range of applications. 


Contact 
CureVac GmbH 
Marijke Barner, PhD 
Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 15 
72076 Tübingen 
Germany 

T +49 (0) 70 71.92 0 53-0 
F +49 (0) 70 71.92 0 53-11 
Marijke.Barner@curevac.com 
www.curevac.com 


MC Services AG 
Hilda Juhasz 
T +49 (0) 89.210 228 20 
Hilda.Juhasz@mc-services.eu 


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