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CureVac GmbH; CureVac To Start First Mrna Vaccine Clinical Trial In Prostate Cancer

* CureVac's RNActive® mRNA vaccine CV9103 to treat prostate cancer approved for study in humans * Clinical trial to begin by year-end * First results expected in Q3 2009

Tuebingen (Germany), December 10, 2008. CureVac GmbH today announced that the German regulatory authority, Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, has approved the Clinical Trial Application CTA to begin a Phase I clinical study with RNActive® - derived mRNA vaccine CV9103. The mRNA vaccine will be tested in patients with hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer.

CV9103 is the lead candidate in CureVac's vaccine pipeline of RNActive®-derived molecules for active immunotherapy of cancer. The vaccine comprises modified long chain mRNA molecules coding four different antigens expressed by prostate cancer cells. The Phase I trial is designed to assess the safety and tolerability of the vaccine. The multicentre study will be conducted in Germany and Italy. CureVac expects to begin treatment of the first patient by year-end and intends to report initial trial results by Q3 2009.

Thomas Lander, M.D., Managing Director and Chief Medical Officer of CureVac, commented: "CV9103 is the first mRNA-based vaccine entering clinical trials in prostate cancer to be administered directly into the skin. This is a significant milestone for both the CureVac team and the scientific and medical community involved with active immunotherapy of cancer. We are very excited to be able to investigate this novel therapeutic principle for the first time in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The preclinical data for CV9103 are very encouraging and we are now determined to demonstrate that this innovative immunotherapy is safe and well tolerated in humans before entering into Phase II trials."

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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 was overlooked for decades.

CureVac has already demonstrated it is possible to modify mRNA so that it is suitable for therapeutic purposes while maintaining its physiological properties. CureVac's RNActive® - derived customized mRNA molecules are used to encode different tumour-associated antigens which are expressed by different 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® to deliver modified and formulated mRNA molecules with enhanced translatory potency and self-activating activity, * RNAdjuvant® as an immune stimulant in different kinds of vaccines, * PUREmessenger® for the cGMP-production of full-length mRNA.

About CureVac CureVac GmbH is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the therapeutic application of messenger RNA (mRNA). CureVac's lead programme is focusing on the development of tumour vaccines for the treatment of prostate cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

CureVac, a spin-off from the Tuebingen University, Germany, established in December 2000, is headquartered in Tuebingen with clinical development facilities in Frankfurt. Since its inception, the Company has raised approximately EUR 38 million. The Main investor is dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH&Co. KG, a venture capital firm owned by the Hopp family. Mr. Dietmar Hopp is a co-founder of Walldorf-based SAP AG.

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

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

This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

LINK: http://hugin.info/141325/R/1276506/284266.pdf

CureVac GmbH

http://www.curevac.com

Stock Identifier: GER.CURE

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