dievini Hopp BioTech Congratulates CureVac on Successful Nasdaq IPO

dievini urges European and German governments to encourage more investment
in biotech industry to support innovation and growth

WALLDORF, Germany - 19 August 2020 - dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG (dievini) congratulates portfolio company CureVac N.V. (Nasdaq: CVAC), a pioneer in the development of mRNA-based drugs, on its recent IPO on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange, citing it as a true European biotech success story. dievini remains the largest shareholder in CureVac with just under 50% and has invested further EUR 100 million in the IPO.

Dietmar Hopp, co-founder of dievini, said: "CureVac was one of the first investments in our portfolio, and I am pleased to see how the company has developed over the years, culminating in the recent IPO. CureVac is developing a potential vaccine against COVID-19 in addition to other vaccines and cancer treatments that could have a major impact on human health around the globe. I warmly congratulate the entire CureVac team for their many recent achievements and am proud to have known, accompanied and supported this company with its potentially game-changing technology since 2005."

dievini has been a highly active investor and supporter of European, especially German, biotechnology for fifteen years and continues to invest in companies developing innovative therapies and processes. In addition to the high profile successes seen in development and financing of CureVac in recent months, another portfolio company, Immatics, also listed on Nasdaq earlier this year. Other portfolio companies like AC Immune, Apogenix, Heidelberg Pharma or Molecular Health are working in a variety of indications such as Alzheimer's Disease, viral infections and cancer as well as in precision medicine. They are developing highly advanced products and technologies to better protect people's lives and combat diseases in an improved and more targeted manner.

For a long time, dievini has been advocating the creation of a much stronger and innovation-friendly capital market environment in Europe and Germany so that the European biotech industry can grow and prosper and innovations and jobs are created and retained in Europe. As an investment company, it calls for a policy that makes it more advantageous for investors to participate in this high reward but also high risk industry from start-ups through VC rounds to public companies at all stages of drug development and all aspects of healthcare.

Prof. Christof Hettich, co-founder and co-managing director of dievini, said: "For Europe to have more success stories like CureVac, the governments need to encourage more investing in the homegrown European biotechnology industry. We have some of the best basic research in the world, but we do not create optimal conditions for companies and investors to facilitate product development to market. This is a vibrant industry that is responsible for paradigm shifts in patient treatments, and through the innovation of these companies, many diseases that were once fatal are now manageable and will be curable in the future. To do this incredible work right, it takes time, patience and money as well as the acceptance of setbacks. The ongoing pandemic has highlighted the importance of investing in this industry on an ongoing basis and of strenghtening this sector at the local level."
 

About dievini
dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG is a holding company of SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp with an investment focus on innovative biotechnology companies. dievini holds investments in ten companies - seven in Germany, two in Switzerland, one in Italy - almost all of which are developing diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines against serious diseases such as cancer, bacterial and viral infections, and neurodegenerative disorders based on deep clinical-molecular expertise and novel therapeutic approaches. So far, approximately 1.4 billion euros have been invested in biotechnology companies.

About CureVac
CureVac is a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology with expertise in developing and optimizing this versatile molecule for medical purposes. The principle of CureVac's proprietary technology is the use of mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce its own proteins capable of fighting a wide range of diseases. The company applies its technologies for the development of prophylactic vaccines, cancer therapies, antibody therapies and the treatment of protein therapies. CureVac is headquartered in Tübingen, Germany with sites in Frankfurt and Boston, USA. For more information, please visit .
 

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