It has been quite the month at CureVac
Back on March 2, CureVac CEO Dan Menichella was at the White House, seated among his counterparts at drug makers big and small, explaining to President Trump how his company planned to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Nine days later he was out of a job, and then CureVac became party to an international incident. Now his successor is leaving, too.
CureVac disclosed yesterday that Ingmar Hoerr, who took over for Menichella, was taking an indefinite leave “for medical reasons,” adding that the issue is “not caused by coronavirus.” Franz-Werner Haas, the company’s chief operating officer, is now the CEO. Meanwhile, the German company is still working on that vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to generate virus-blocking antibodies.
Over the weekend, a German newspaper reported that Trump at some point tried to strike a deal with CureVac that would give the U.S. exclusive access to the vaccine, which is yet to be tested in humans. CureVac distanced itself from the story, and the U.S. ambassador to Germany said it was false. But billionaire Dietmar Hopp, who owns about 80% of CureVac, said in an interview with soccer reporters (a long story in its own right) seemed to confirm it, saying that Trump made the offer to CureVac’s management, “who then told me and asked what I thought.”
He thought it was a very bad idea. But whether Hopp's thoughts had anything to do with CureVac’s management upheaval remains unclear.
CureVac disclosed yesterday that Ingmar Hoerr, who took over for Menichella, was taking an indefinite leave “for medical reasons,” adding that the issue is “not caused by coronavirus.” Franz-Werner Haas, the company’s chief operating officer, is now the CEO. Meanwhile, the German company is still working on that vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to generate virus-blocking antibodies.
Over the weekend, a German newspaper reported that Trump at some point tried to strike a deal with CureVac that would give the U.S. exclusive access to the vaccine, which is yet to be tested in humans. CureVac distanced itself from the story, and the U.S. ambassador to Germany said it was false. But billionaire Dietmar Hopp, who owns about 80% of CureVac, said in an interview with soccer reporters (a long story in its own right) seemed to confirm it, saying that Trump made the offer to CureVac’s management, “who then told me and asked what I thought.”
He thought it was a very bad idea. But whether Hopp's thoughts had anything to do with CureVac’s management upheaval remains unclear.
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