(Reuters) – Germany’s CureVac NV said on Tuesday it has started a mid-stage study testing its experimental coronavirus vaccine and plans to begin a decisive global trial with about 30,000 volunteers in the fourth quarter.
The company’s U.S.-listed shares rose 10% to $49.66 in extended trading.
CureVac has dosed the first patient with its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the trial taking place in Peru and Panama and expects data on older adults in the fourth quarter.
The vaccine developer plans to start the global trial after data from the ongoing studies.
CureVac is among the many in the race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, with rivals including Novavax Inc and AstraZeneca already conducting late-stage trials of their potential vaccines.
CureVac bagged nearly $300 million in funding from the German government earlier this month to speed up work on its prototype COVID-19 vaccine and build capacity to produce it at scale.
(Reporting by Trisha Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
