CureVac, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the field of mRNA-based technology, has launched its U.S. operations in Cambridge, Mass., as the company advances the development of its proprietary mRNA platform technology and multiple, clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics and vaccines.

Based in Tϋbingen, Germany, where CureVac was founded in 2000, the expansion into the U.S. extends the company’s footprint into one of the world’s preeminent biotechnology hubs.

The U.S. subsidiary will be headed by Karen Slobod, M.D., as managing director, formerly head of the Maternal Immunization Franchise at Novartis Vaccines, and will primarily focus on development activities involving CureVac’s rapidly growing pipeline of mRNA-based prophylactic vaccines, which include programs targeting Rotavirus, RSV, HIV, and influenza virus in collaborations with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IAVI and Johnson & Johnson.

Additionally, the U.S. operations will enable CureVac to more directly engage the U.S. pharmaceutical and investor communities.

Ingmar Hoerr, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of CureVac, said, “Expansion into the U.S. is an important step in CureVac’s corporate and clinical growth, as it will enable us to capitalize on the numerous research and business opportunities related to our industry-leading mRNA technology platform. As such, our U.S. office will provide an important base for CureVac to extend our U.S. interest while enhancing our development capabilities, particularly those targeting mRNA-based prophylactic vaccines.”

CureVac’s technology utilizes natural, chemically unmodified mRNA to develop a broad range of therapeutic candidates in cancer immunotherapies and prophylactic vaccines as well as molecular therapy. To date, CureVac has validated its approach in numerous clinical trials, including an ongoing phase IIb study in prostate cancer.