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$60 Million Funding Supports Shingles Vaccine Candidate

February 11, 2022 • 5:46 am CST
(Precision Vaccinations News)

Washington-based Curevo Vaccine today announced the closing of a $60 million Series A financing round that would support the 678-patient Phase 2b head-to-head clinical trial of the CRV‑101 shingles vaccine candidate against Shingrix®, from initiation through topline data.

CRV-101 is a clinical-stage adjuvanted sub-unit vaccine specifically designed to produce an optimal immune response while using a smaller amount of adjuvant with the intention of a vaccine with similar efficacy but with a lower burden of side effects than the currently-approved shingles vaccine.

In the Phase 1 trial, CRV-101 demonstrated very robust immunogenicity as measured by humoral and cellular responses with no grade 3 injection site side effects and a 1.3% rate of grade 3 systemic side effects ("grade 3" side effects are those vaccination-related reactions severe enough to prevent normal activities).

According to the U.S. CDC website, about 16% of people receiving Shingrix experienced mild side effects.

Charlie Petty, co-founder and Principal at Adjuvant Capital, commented in the February 10, 2022 press release, "The opportunity to bring the first non-live varicella (chickenpox) vaccine to the global community with Curevo's vaccine technology was also a key motivator behind our investment in the company."

Shingles is a painful blistering skin rash caused by a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus.

And about 10% of people with shingles develop nerve pain, which does not resolve for months or even years after the rash disappears.

Curevo is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Seattle, dedicated to reducing the burden of infectious disease by developing safe and highly effective vaccines via its sub-unit vaccine technology platform. 

Note: Shingrix® is a registered trademark of GlaxoSmithKline, PLC.

GSK's Shingrix is a non-live, adjuvanted recombinant shingles vaccine, consisting of the varicella-zoster virus glycoprotein E antigen and the AS01B adjuvant system, a proprietary adjuvant containing QS-21 and MPL with liposomes. 

Shingrix has been found up to 90% effective in various clinical trials, says GSK. 

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