CureVac N.V. (CVAC) shares dipped 8.82% in after-hours on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, and closed at $67.00 per share. Earlier in the morning session, CVAC’s stock gained 8.92% to close Wednesday’s normal trading session at $73.48. CVAC shares have moved up by 29.12% in the past week. Over the past three months, the stock has lost 19.66%, while over the past six months, it has shed 13.42%.

Let’s see why CVAC stock faced negativity in the after-hours on Wednesday?

Low efficacy recorded in the final trial of COVID-19 CVnCoV vaccine

On June 30, 2021, CureVac N.V. announced results from the final analysis of its 40,000 subject international pivotal Phase 2b/3 study (the HERALD study) of the first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV.

CVnCoV demonstrated an overall vaccine efficacy of only 48%against COVID-19 disease of any severity, including single non-respiratory mild symptoms.

The efficacy of 53% was achieved among participants in the age group of 18 to 60.

In the same age group, CVnCoV provided 100% protection (vaccine 0 vs. 6 placebo) against hospitalization or death. The data confirm the favourable safety profile of CVnCoV in all age groups.

New appointments

On June 30, 2021, CureVac N.V. appointed Dr. Malte Greune as Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective July 1, 2021.

Dr Florian von der Mülbe, co-founder and Chief Production Officer of the company will also now focus his extensive production expertise exclusively on the expansion and accelerated development of The RNA Printer(R).

On June 2, 2021, CureVac N.V. appointed Klaus Edvardsen, MD, Ph.D., as Chief Development Officer. The appointment of Dr. Edvardsen will take effect on August 1, 2021.

Supervisory Board Update

On June 23, 2021, CureVac N.V. announced that Dr. Ingmar Hoerr, former Founding-CEO and former member of the Supervisory Board of CureVac, has withdrawn his candidacy for nomination to the Supervisory Board.

Recent financial results announcement

On May 26, 2021, CureVac N.V released its financial results for the first quarter of 2021.

Q1 2021 financial highlights

• CureVac reported revenue of €10.0 million for the first three months of 2021 compared to revenue of €3.1 million for the same period in 2020.
• The company suffered from an operating loss of €115.8 million for the first three months of 2021 compared to an operating loss of €23.2 million for the same period in 2020.
• The cost of sales and other operating expenses were €26.3 million for Q1 2021 compared to €125.8 million in Q1 2020.
• As of March 31, 2021, the company had cash and cash equivalents of€1,497 million compared to €1,323 million as of December 31, 2020. 

Conclusion

The CVAC stock plummeted after the company announced that its Covid-19 vaccine shows 48% efficacy in the final analysis. The CVAC stock can further go down on Thursday as well because it’s a major setback for the company.