The former German vaccine hope Curevac replaces the boss.

At the beginning of April, Sanofi manager Alexander Zehnder will take over as CEO from Franz-Werner Haas, who took over the post in the middle of the peak phase of the corona pandemic in spring 2020.

Zehnder recently managed the oncology business at the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

Curevac is also increasingly focusing on the fight against cancer.

Gustave parts

Business correspondent in Stuttgart.

  • Follow I follow

In the corona pandemic, Curevac, together with Biontech, was the German hope for a vaccine.

In contrast to the Mainz competition, however, the mRNA vaccine from Tübingen flopped.

Only on Friday did the company draw attention again with positive study data.

A vaccine candidate against Covid-19 and the flu is considered promising.

Together with its partner GSK, Curevac intends to advance the development in the current year.

The company's share price has risen by two-thirds in two trading days since Friday.

Two analysts praised the study data, Jefferies now classifies Curevac as a purchase candidate and raised the target price from 9 to 21 dollars (almost 20 euros) on Monday.

After the study was announced, the share price rose from 6 to almost 10 euros at times.

A change in strategy seems to be paying off for the company, in which the German state continues to hold a stake.

While the competitors Biontech and Moderna relied on so-called modified mRNA vaccines, Curevac focused on unmodified ones.

After the flop, however, the team from Tübingen changed their strategy and are now also working with modified mRNA.

In the new study, Curevac tested both modified and unmodified candidates, but the modified one is promising.

In addition to this vaccine, Curevac is also increasingly focusing on fighting cancer.

The commitment of Zehnder, who studied medicine in Bern, has an MBA from Lausanne and then worked in various positions for Roche and Sanofi, now fits in with this.

In the course of his career, Zehnder has “contributed significantly to the market launch of transformative medicines,” said Jean Stéphenne, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, in a statement.

"It is an honor and a really exciting perspective to become part of the global CureVac team," says Zehnder.

He was "fascinated by the possibilities that mRNA technology can offer patients in various therapeutic areas, and I am enthusiastic about the potential of CureVac".

Haas, who is a lawyer and has worked for Curevac since 2012, initially took over as CEO on an interim basis in spring 2020 after Curevac co-founder Ingmar Hoerr suffered a stroke in March.

The biologist Hoerr had become CEO again just two days earlier and had taken over from the business economist David Menichella, who had run the company since 2018.

Stéphenne thanked Haas for "his passion and tireless commitment".

Under Haas' "outstanding leadership," Curevac "overcame unprecedented challenges."

The recent successful data is an important turning point for Curevac towards a "relevant commercial player".