Biopharmaceutical company GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) and biotech firm CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC) announced on Wednesday that they have restructured their collaboration into a new licensing agreement, with GSK acquiring full rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialise mRNA vaccines for influenza and COVID-19 globally.

CureVac will receive an upfront payment of EUR400m and could earn up to EUR1.05bn in additional milestone payments, along with tiered royalties. This new agreement replaces all prior financial considerations from their previous collaboration.

Since 2020, GSK and CureVac have been developing mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases, including candidates for seasonal influenza and COVID-19, currently in phase II, and avian influenza in phase I clinical development. GSK will now fully control the development and manufacturing of these vaccines, leveraging its investment in vaccine platform technologies to create best-in-class vaccines.

CureVac retains exclusive rights to additional undisclosed infectious disease targets from the prior collaboration and can independently develop and partner mRNA vaccines in other indications. The ongoing patent litigation between CureVac and Pfizer/BioNTech remains unaffected by this new agreement.

Completion of this agreement is subject to antitrust and regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.