What happened
Shares of CureVac (CVAC +0.00%) surged almost 17% higher on Thursday after the company announced it found a well-capitalized and famous partner to help get its coronavirus vaccine to market.
So what
CureVac said it has signed a collaboration and services agreement with global pharmaceutical powerhouse Bayer (BAYR.Y 0.36%) regarding the former's coronavirus vaccine candidate, CVnCoV.
Image source: Getty Images.
CureVac said that under the agreement, the financial terms of which were not made public, "CureVac will be the Marketing Authorization Holder for the product, while Bayer will support CureVac with country operations within the European Union (EU) and selected additional markets." Bayer also holds options to become the marketing authorization holder outside of Europe, its partner added.
According to the biotech, this deal positions it to supply "hundreds of millions" of doses of the vaccine globally. Last month, CVnCoV entered phase 3 clinical testing. Since it's still under evaluation, it hasn't been approved for use anywhere.
Now what
It's hard to judge accurately how this might impact CureVac's fundamentals, since we don't know the financial framework of the deal. And it nearly goes without saying that there's no guarantee that CVnCoV will be successful in its current round of testing, not to mention win regulatory approval.
That said, no matter the terms of the company's partnership with Bayer, it will be a real boon for CVnCoV to have such a powerful international partner if it tests well and ultimately goes to market. Today's share-price pop was justified on that basis.
