GSK’s blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix leads the market but its side effects have left an opening. Curevo Vaccine, GC Biopharma’s U.S. affiliate, is making a play for that gap—securing $110 million in Series B funding to push its contender, amezosvatein, toward phase 3.
The round was led by Medicxi, a European biotech venture firm with investments in companies like Vaxcyte and ViceBio, GC Biopharma announced Tuesday. New investors OrbiMed, HBM Healthcare Investments, and Sanofi Ventures joined the round, along with existing backers RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Adjuvant Capital, and founding investor GC Biopharma.
GC Biopharma doubles down on shingles vaccine push as Curevo secures $110M to challenge GSK's Shingrix. (Credit: GC Biopharma)
GC Biopharma doubles down on shingles vaccine push as Curevo secures $110M to challenge GSK's Shingrix. (Credit: GC Biopharma)
Amezosvatein is a non-mRNA subunit vaccine candidate targeting glycoprotein E, the same antigen used in Shingrix to generate a long-term immune response. Curevo is aiming to match Shingrix’s efficacy while improving tolerability with an optimized toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-based adjuvant.
The vaccine was licensed from Korea’s Mogam Institute for Biomedical Research, with its adjuvant developed by Seattle-based Access to Advanced Health Institute.
Curevo CEO George Simeon, in the company’s press release, said the cash will bankroll an expansion of the company’s phase 2 trial, adding 640 participants—including adults over 70—to determine the optimal dose before heading into phase 3. The trial, designed with input from regulators, is expected to start in mid-2025.
Moncef Slaoui, the former chief scientific advisor to Operation Warp Speed and a 30-year GSK veteran who contributed to the creation of Shingrix, is stepping in as Curevo’s board chair.
“I have been collaborating with the Curevo team for several weeks now,” Slaoui said in the company’s statement. The goal, he said, is to maintain strong efficacy while improving tolerability. “Curevo’s adjuvant technology has the attributes to succeed in this endeavor.”
Giovanni Mariggi, co-founder and partner at Medicxi, is also joining the board. "Patients, doctors, and payors are very clear a new shingles vaccine like amezosvatein would be welcome in the global marketplace," he said. "Amezosvatein’s activity and improved tolerability profile could allow it to be a significant product in the shingles vaccine market."
Tal Zaks, former chief medical officer at Moderna and now with OrbiMed, is also signing on. He pointed to the vaccine’s optimized TLR4 agonist as a key advantage, saying it reduces biological risk while improving tolerability—factors that could make it the preferred choice for shingles prevention.
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Kim Ji-hye jkim404@docdocdoc.co.kr
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