tm2016252-9_f1a - block

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 31, 2020

Registration No. 333-240076

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

AMENDMENT NO. 1
FORM F-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

CureVac B.V.*

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in Its charter)

(*)

We intend to convert the legal form of our company under Dutch law from a private company with limited liability (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) to a public company (naamloze vennootschap) and to change our name from CureVac B.V. to CureVac N.V. prior to the closing of this offering.

Not Applicable
(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

	The Netherlands						Not Applicable
	(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)			(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)			(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

Friedrich-Miescher-Strasse 15, 72076
Tübingen,
Germany

+49 7071 9883 0
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

CureVac Inc.
250 Summer St. 3rd Fl.
Boston, Massachusetts 02210

+1-617-377-4044
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Richard D. Truesdell, Jr.
Leo Borchardt
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
450 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10017
+1 (212) 450-4000

Paul van der Bijl
NautaDutilh N.V.
Beethovenstraat 400
1082 PR Amsterdam
The Netherlands
+31 (20) 717-1000

Nathan Ajiashvili
Oliver Seiler
Latham & Watkins LLP
885 Third Avenue
New York, New York 10022
+1 (212) 906-1200

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐ ______

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐ ______

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐ ______

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.

Emerging growth company ☒

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

†

The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of each class of securities to be registered	Proposed maximum aggregate offering price(1)			Amount of registration fee(2)
Common shares, par value €0.12 per share		$	100,000,000		$	12,980

(1)

Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Includes the offering price of additional shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase.

(2)

The registrant previously paid a registration fee of $12,980 in relation to its filing of its initial Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-240076) on July 24, 2020.

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to such Section 8(a), may determine.

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state or jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus dated July 31, 2020

P R O S P E C T U S

Common Shares

CureVac B.V.

to be converted and renamed

CureVac N.V.
(incorporated in the Netherlands)

This is CureVac B.V.’s initial public offering of common shares, €0.12 par value per share.

We expect the public offering price to be between $ and $ per common share. This is our initial public offering and no public market currently exists for our common shares. We have applied to list our common shares on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “CVAC.”

We are both an “emerging growth company” and a “foreign private issuer” as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws and, as such, will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. See “Prospectus Summary — Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company” and “— Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer.”

Investing in our common shares involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-15 of this prospectus.

Per Share

Total

Public offering price

Underwriting discounts (1)

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

(1) We refer you to “Underwriting” beginning on page 274 of this prospectus for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

Mr. Dietmar Hopp, managing director of dievini, our majority shareholder, has agreed to purchase €100 million of our common shares at the initial public offering price per share in a private placement transaction that would close concurrently with, and be contingent and conditioned upon consummation of, this offering. The closing of this offering is not conditioned upon the closing of the proposed concurrent private placement. The underwriters will not receive any fees in connection with the sale of our common shares to Mr.Hopp in the concurrent private placement.

The underwriters may also exercise their option to purchase up to an additional common shares from us, at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, for 30 days after the date of this prospectus.

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The common shares will be ready for delivery on or about , 2020.

	BofA Securities			Jefferies			Credit Suisse
				Kempen & Co

The date of this prospectus is , 2020.

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	Page
Prospectus Summary		1
Risk Factors		15
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements		83
Use of Proceeds		85
Dividend Policy		87
Corporate Reorganization		88
Capitalization		89
Dilution		90
Selected Consolidated Financial Information		91
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations		93
Business		115
Management		214
Principal Shareholders		228
Related Party Transactions		230
Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association		235
Comparison of Dutch Corporate Law and U.S. Corporate Law		244
Common Shares Eligible for Future Sale		256
Taxation		258
Underwriting		274
Expenses of the Offering		282
Legal Matters		283
Experts		283
Enforcement of Judgments		283
Where You Can Find More Information		284
Index to Financial Statements		F-1

We and the underwriters have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may provide you. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, common shares only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common shares.

For investors outside the United States: Neither we nor any of the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus or any free writing prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the common shares and the distribution of this prospectus and any free writing prospectus outside the United States.

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, all references in this prospectus to “CureVac” or the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “ours,” “ourselves,” “us” or similar terms refer to (i) CureVac AG, together with its subsidiaries, prior to the completion of the contribution and transfer to CureVac B.V. of all of the outstanding shares of CureVac AG in a capital increase in exchange for newly issued common shares of CureVac B.V., (ii) CureVac B.V., together with its subsidiaries, as of the completion of the contribution and transfer to CureVac B.V. of all of the outstanding shares of CureVac AG in a capital increase in exchange for newly issued common shares of CureVac B.V. and (iii) CureVac N.V., together with its subsidiaries, after giving effect to the conversion of CureVac B.V. into CureVac N.V. See “Corporate Reorganization.”

We are incorporated in the Netherlands, and a majority of our outstanding securities are owned by non U.S. residents. Under the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, we are currently eligible for treatment as a “foreign private issuer.” As a foreign private issuer, we will not be required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as domestic registrants whose securities are registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

We have not authorized anyone to provide any information other than that contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we may have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We and the underwriters have not authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information. Neither we nor the underwriters are making an offer to sell the common shares in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. This offering is being made in the United States and elsewhere solely on the basis of the information contained in this prospectus. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the common shares. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since the date on the front cover of this prospectus.

PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION

We report under International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB. We have made rounding adjustments to some of the figures included in this prospectus. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in some tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that preceded them.

Our financial statements included in this prospectus are presented in euro and, unless otherwise specified, all monetary amounts are in euro. All references in this prospectus to “$,” “U.S. dollars” and “dollars” means U.S. dollars and all references to “€” and “euro” mean euro, unless otherwise noted.

In this prospectus, unless otherwise indicated, some euro amounts have been translated into U.S. dollars at the rate of $1.00 to € , the official exchange rate quoted as of , 2020 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

This prospectus contains the historical financial statements and other financial information of CureVac AG, which is expected to be acquired by CureVac B.V. as a consequence of a capital increase of CureVac B.V. in the context of which the shareholders of CureVac AG will contribute and transfer their shares in CureVac AG as contribution in kind to CureVac B.V. prior to the closing of this offering. CureVac B.V.’s common shares are being offered hereby. CureVac B.V. is a newly incorporated holding company incorporated for the purpose of effecting the offering and has not engaged in any activities except those incidental to its formation, the corporate reorganization and the initial public offering of our common shares. CureVac B.V. has no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities and will have no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities until the completion of our corporate reorganization. Following the corporate reorganization, CureVac N.V. will become the holding company of CureVac AG and the historical consolidated financial statements of CureVac AG included in this prospectus will become the historical consolidated financial statements of CureVac N.V. See “Corporate Reorganization.”

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TRADEMARKS

We own or have rights to various trademarks and trade names, including CureVac® and the CureVac logo, that we use in connection with the operation of our business. This prospectus may also contain trademarks, service marks and trade names of third parties, which are the property of their respective owners. We do not intend our use or display of other entities’ trademarks, trade names or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other entity. Solely for convenience, the trademarks, trade names and service marks in this prospectus are referred to without the symbols ® and ™, or SM, but the omission of such references should not be construed as any indication that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable owner of these trademarks, service marks and trade names.

MARKET, INDUSTRY AND OTHER DATA

Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this prospectus concerning our industry, including our general expectations and market position, market opportunity and market size estimates, is based on information from independent industry analysts, third-party sources and management estimates. Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and are based on assumptions made by us based on such data and our knowledge of such industry and market, which we believe to be reasonable. In addition, while we believe the market opportunity information included in this prospectus is generally reliable and is based on reasonable assumptions, such data involves risks and uncertainties and is subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary may not contain all the information that may be important to you, and we urge you to read this entire prospectus carefully, including the “Risk Factors,” “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections and our audited consolidated financial statements and notes to those statements, included elsewhere in this prospectus, before deciding to invest in our common shares.

Our Company

We are a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid that has the potential to improve the lives of people. Our vision is to revolutionize medicine and open new avenues for developing therapies by enabling the body to make its own drugs. Messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, plays a central role in cellular biology in the production of proteins in every living cell. We are the pioneers in successfully harnessing mRNAs designed to prevent infections and to treat diseases by mimicking human biology to synthesize the desired proteins. Our technology platform is based on a natural approach to optimize mRNA constructs that encode functional proteins that replace defective or missing proteins using the cell’s intrinsic translation machinery. Our current product portfolio includes clinical and preclinical candidates across multiple disease indications in oncology, prophylactic vaccines and protein therapy. Our lead clinical programs are CV8102, which we are evaluating in a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of four types of solid tumors, and CV7202, which we are currently investigating in a Phase 1 clinical trial for potential vaccination against rabies. We are also rapidly advancing our mRNA vaccine program against coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), for which we initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers in June 2020, with results expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.

mRNA-based medicines represent a novel class of medicine that have the potential to address limitations of conventional treatment modalities. We believe the modular nature of mRNA has the potential for higher efficacy, greater speed and lower cost of production as compared to conventional treatment modalities. We are leveraging the inherent advantages of mRNA-based medicines in the development of our technology platform. We have built an extensive expertise in the fields of mRNA biology, optimization and production. We have continued to invest in developing our proprietary technology platform, which we refer to as the RNAoptimizer, over the past 20 years. We optimize mRNAs to preserve critical protein-RNA interactions as these are an inherent feature of the natural building blocks we employ. Our differentiated technology platform is designed to optimize each component of the mRNA-based medicine. Our RNAoptimizer platform is built on three core pillars:

•

Protein design: optimizing the specific properties of encoded protein;

•

mRNA optimization: increasing translation efficacy of the mRNA molecule; and

•

mRNA delivery: selecting the best-suited delivery system from our diverse portfolio of proprietary and third party delivery systems.

By leveraging each of these pillars, we have observed improved protein expression levels while modulating the interaction with the immune system in preclinical and clinical trials. We continue to invest in all levels of optimization to improve the methods we currently employ and to further advance our mRNA-based medicines.

We consider our manufacturing process an important part of our strategy that allows us to continuously improve our technology platform and maintain flexibility in clinical development. We control the critical steps of manufacturing in-house, which allows us to drive innovation and to maintain flexibility, which allows us to pivot quickly in clinical development and potential commercialization. For other non-critical manufacturing steps, such as starting material, formulation and fill and finish, we rely on contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs. We currently operate three GMP-certified suites, with the capacity to supply our clinical programs and potential early commercialization activities. We are in the process of building a fourth GMP facility that will support our future commercial launches. Based on the doses and response seen in our CV7202 study, we believe our fourth GMP facility, which is being designed to cover all manufacturing steps from starting material to formulation, could potentially supply materials for billions

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of doses of our vaccine product candidates. In addition to our GMP manufacturing facilities, we are developing a novel downsized and automated process for producing our mRNA, which we refer to as the RNA Printer.

Our approach seeks to mitigate clinical and developmental risk across multiple levels to advance and expand our broad product portfolio through rational disease selection. We consider a number of factors in our disease selection process including unmet medical need, immune response, duration of expression, dosing requirements, delivery, and targeted tissue types, among other factors. Our programs target the underlying modes of action of the disease that play a critical role in the pathology of the disease. We are initially targeting diseases that require an active immune response (such as prophylactic vaccines and oncology) and require transient expression of mRNA in tissue types that are more easily accessible. We believe these initial indications are amenable to localized delivery using a lipid nanoparticle, or LNP, delivery system. Following the encouraging results from our initial prophylactic vaccines program in clinical studies and based on our advanced understanding of mRNA biology and immune stimulation control, we have expanded our product portfolio to target indications that require an immune silent approach (such as protein delivery), given the need for higher doses, repeated dosing and longer expression of the protein. These initial indications are using LNP delivery systems, or our proprietary polymer based delivery system, which we refer to as the CureVac Carrier Molecule, or CVCM. Our access to a broad range of delivery systems allows us to target multiple tissue types.

We are exploring a range of potential approaches in oncology including intratumoral therapy and novel cancer vaccines targeting neoepitopes and tumor associated antigens. Our lead oncology candidate, CV8102, is a complex of single-stranded non-coding RNA which has been optimized to maximize activation of cellular receptors that normally detect viral pathogens entering the cells (such as toll-like receptor 7, or TLR7, TLR8, and retinoic acid inducible gene I, or RIG-I pathways), mimicking a viral infection of the tumor. CV8102 is designed to recruit and activate antigen-presenting cells at the site of injection to present tumor antigens released from tumor cells to T cells in the draining lymph node. This potentially leads to activation of tumor specific T cells, which can kill tumor cells at the injected site, but also at distant non-injected tumor lesions or metastases. CV8102 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of four types of solid tumors — cutaneous melanoma, or cMEL, adenoidcystic carcinoma, or ACC, squamous cell carcinoma of skin, or SCC, and squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck, or HNSCC. As of April 2020, we have enrolled 40 patients (24 in the single agent cohort and 16 in the combination cohort with anti-PD-1) in the Phase 1 dose-escalation portion of the study. As of April 2020, we have observed preliminary evidence of single agent activity with objective tumor responses observed in two melanoma patients, and two additional patients have shown a stabilization of their disease, including shrinkage of non-injected lesions. Overall, eight out of 24 patients treated with single agent CV8102 remained free of progression for at least 24 weeks. Based on the results from the Phase 1 clinical trial, we plan to determine the recommended dose for Phase 2.

Our mRNA technology platform has shown potential in the development and production of prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases. Our lead vaccine program, CV7202, is being developed for prophylactic vaccination against rabies. CV7202 is an mRNA that encodes the rabies virus glycoprotein, RABV-G, formulated with LNPs. We are currently investigating CV7202 in Phase 1 clinical trial, evaluating safety, including reactogenicity, and immunogenicity. In January 2020, we reported preliminary data from our Phase 1 trial of CV7202 in rabies. CV7202 induced adaptive immune response as shown by rabies-specific virus-neutralizing antibody titers, or VNTs, above the World Health Organization, or WHO, thresholds considered to be protective, after the second dose in all subjects, at the lowest 1µg and 2µg dose levels. We also showed that the lowest dose levels (1µg and 2µg mRNA) were generally well tolerated. We plan to report follow up data from our Phase 1 clinical trial in the fourth quarter of 2020 and initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial by mid-2021.

In response to the global pandemic due to novel coronavirus 2019 disease, or COVID-19, we have rapidly advanced our mRNA vaccine program against SARS-CoV-2. Upon publication of the sequence of the novel coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2), at the end of January 2020, we designed and optimized a variety of potential antigenic constructs based on the spike (S) protein to elicit high immunogenicity. Early exploratory data on these constructs indicated high immunogenicity and titers of S specific binding and neutralizing antibodies in mice after a single vaccination. The results of our preclinical studies suggested that

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our vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 was active at low dose (2μg) and triggered fast induction of a balanced immune response with high levels of VNTs and T-cell responses. Based on the preclinical results, we initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers in June 2020, with results expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. We are working closely with many organizations, including the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, on the development of this vaccine candidate. We have also produced material for our vaccine candidate in our GMP III facility in anticipation of clinical trials.

Our development efforts for protein therapy are based on delivering optimized mRNAs to trigger production of antibodies or therapeutic proteins. Based on this “healthy” information delivered by mRNA, our cells can produce proteins, which are required to treat the disease caused by missing or inactive proteins. Protein therapy has the potential to be used as a treatment against infectious diseases and toxins and to be applied in many disease indications including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune diseases. In preclinical studies in non-human primates, we have demonstrated that antibodies encoded by mRNA can be produced in hepatocytes very rapidly and can reach therapeutic levels in the blood stream. We are also currently advancing multiple undisclosed programs in preclinical studies across liver and rare diseases, eye disorders, lung diseases as well as delivering therapeutic antibodies.

We have built an intellectual property portfolio in the United States, Europe and other major geographies. Our patent portfolio includes claims relating to our RNA technology platform, our CVCM delivery system and our CV8102, CV7202, CV-SSIV and SARS-CoV-2 product candidates.

We have a history of partnering with leading biopharmaceutical companies such as Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, or Boehringer Ingelheim, CRISPR Therapeutics AG, or CRISPR Therapeutics, and Genmab B.V., or Genmab. We also have received research grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CEPI for the development of several prophylactic vaccines. In addition, we have collaborations with the Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, collectively SERI, as well as Yale University. Our approach of partnering with a number of biopharmaceutical companies allows us to execute on a broad range of programs simultaneously, while mitigating our drug development risk.

We are led by a team of veterans with extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including experience in nucleic acid therapy, oncology, rare and infectious diseases, and antibodies. Our management team as well as our supervisory board members have broad expertise in the clinical, regulatory, and commercialization aspects of oncology, prophylactic vaccines and protein therapy as well as in drug development, process development, and manufacturing for mRNA therapies. We currently have over 450 employees, including over 116 employees with advanced scientific degrees. Since our founding in 2000, we have raised €451 million in gross proceeds from a combination of equity and convertible debt financings with an additional €44 million of external committed financing outstanding.

Our Product Portfolio

Our differentiated mRNA technology platform is designed to address a broad range of diseases across multiple therapeutic areas. Given the strengths of our platform, the broad potential of mRNA-based medicines, and our rational approach to disease selection, we have chosen to leverage our platform to initially focus on advancing our product candidates in the areas of oncology, infectious diseases and protein therapy.

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[MISSING IMAGE: tm2016252d6-fc_product4clr.jpg]

For further details on our collaboration agreements, see “Business — Collaborations” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Our Collaborations and Related License Agreements"

Unidentified indication.

(1)

Undisclosed lysosomal storage disorder using liver as a bioreactor.

(2)

Focused on liver-specific metabolic disorders, with the goal to restore the specific enzyme or protein that is deficient in the liver by LNP-mediated delivery of mRNA to the liver.

(3)

CEPI has committed to provide funding, which will be used for a Phase 1 clinical trial. See “Business — Collaborations — Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations Framework Partnering Agreement” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Our Collaborations and Related License Agreements — Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations”.

Our Strengths

We are developing a broad portfolio of product candidates currently in preclinical or Phase 1 development stages that we believe position us at the forefront of targeted immune active and immune silent mRNA medicines. Our key strengths include:

•

We have a differentiated mRNA technology platform that has the potential to address a wide range of diseases.

•

We have a broad portfolio of mRNA-based medicines in preclinical or Phase 1 development stages being designed for efficacy, safety and protein expression at relatively low doses.

•

We have the ability to target different tissue types based on our delivery systems.

•

We have invested in building our in-house manufacturing infrastructure, capabilities and expertise to rapidly, efficiently and cost-effectively produce mRNA-based medicines at commercial scale.

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•

We have entered into strategic partnerships with leading biopharmaceutical companies and research and non-profit institutions to expand the applications of our technology platform.

•

We have built an intellectual property portfolio in a variety of markets for our platform and product candidates.

•

We have a long history of mRNA research and development and are led by an experienced management team.

Our Strategy

Our goal is to build a leading, fully integrated mRNA-based medicines company that can transform the lives of people. The key components of our strategy include:

•

Continue to invest in our proprietary technology platform to be the leading mRNA platform company.

•

Utilize a rational disease selection approach to minimize clinical and commercial risk for our programs and broader platform.

•

Rapidly advance our lead product candidates through clinical development and regulatory approval.

•

Continue to invest in our manufacturing capabilities across all manufacturing steps from starting material to formulation to further add scale and flexibility for potential commercialization.

•

Selectively seek strategic partners to develop and commercialize product candidates in certain therapeutic areas and geographies.

•

Seek strategic acquisitions or in-licenses of technology or assets that are complementary to our programs and technology platform.

•

Strengthen and expand our intellectual property portfolio to protect our scientific and technical know-how.

Risks Associated with Our Business

All of our product candidates are currently in preclinical or Phase 1 development stages. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully conduct late-stage clinical trials, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial-scale product, or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Accordingly, you should consider our prospects in light of the costs, uncertainties, delays and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in the early stages of development, especially clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies such as ours. Our business is subject to a number of risks of which you should be aware before making an investment decision. These risks are discussed more fully in the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus immediately following this prospectus summary. These risks include the following:

•

the adequacy of our capital resources to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates, and a failure to obtain additional capital;

•

our history of operating losses and our need for additional funding before we can expect to become profitable from the sales of our products;

•

we rely on existing strategic partnerships for the funding, research, development and commercialization of our platform and certain of our product candidates, including with Genmab, Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc., or Arcturus, Acuitas Therapeutics Inc., or Acuitas, CRISPR Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA, or GSK, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CEPI, and Tesla Grohmann Automation GmbH, or Tesla Grohmann, among others; if our partners are unsuccessful in their efforts or chose to terminate their agreements with us, our business will be materially harmed;

•

our approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on mRNA technology is unproven, and we do not know whether we will be able to successfully develop any products;

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•

clinical drug development is a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain timelines and uncertain outcomes;

•

all of our proprietary product candidates are still in preclinical or early clinical development and we cannot give any assurance that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval;

•

if we are unable to obtain regulatory approval and ultimately commercialize our product candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed;

•

to date, no product that utilizes mRNA as a therapeutic or prophylactic vaccine has been approved in the United States or Europe and mRNA drug development has substantial clinical development and regulatory risks due to the novel and unprecedented nature of this new category of medicines;

•

the regulatory approval processes of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, and comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable, and if we are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business will be substantially harmed;

•

some of our product candidates are classified as gene therapies by the FDA and the EMA. Even though our mRNA product candidates are designed to have a different mechanism of action from gene therapies, the association of our product candidates with gene therapies could result in increased regulatory burdens, impair the reputation of our product candidates or negatively impact our platform or our business;

•

we are developing product candidates for the treatment or prevention of diseases in which there is little clinical experience using new technologies, which means there is increased risk that the FDA, EMA or other regulatory authorities may not consider the endpoints of our clinical trials to provide clinically meaningful results;

•

the manufacture of mRNA-based medicines is complex and manufacturers often encounter difficulties in production;

•

the timing, receipt, and amount of sales of, or royalties or milestones on, our future products, if any;

•

our ability to obtain, maintain, protect and defend our intellectual property, which is difficult and costly;

•

concentration of ownership by our principal shareholders may conflict with your interest and may prevent you from influencing significant corporate decisions;

•

our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the intellectual property of third parties;

•

we are currently devoting significant resources to the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 and such development may impair our ability to timely progress other product candidates in clinical trials; and

•

the recent outbreak of the COVID-19, which may cause business disruptions and could have a material adverse effect on our business plan or clinical trials.

A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any product candidate that we may develop could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of such product candidate.

Upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we determined to make the development of a vaccine candidate against COVID-19 a priority and to use our large scale GMP III facility to provide required material for a potential vaccine product candidate. While there is currently no larger production batch required for our other product candidates, this prioritization could impact clinical development of our other product candidates if such a production need arises. Our research personnel dedicated to infectious diseases focused its efforts on optimizing vaccine constructs in preparation of a Phase 1 clinical trial, and this

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focus may delay development of other potential infectious disease product candidates. We also postponed initially planned preclinical work on an influenza vaccine to later in 2020. We can provide no assurances that our focus on clinical development of a vaccine candidate against COVID-19 will not adversely impact clinical development of our other product candidates.

Furthermore, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. We face and will continue to face competition from third parties that use mRNA, gene editing or gene therapy development platforms and from third parties focused on other therapeutic modalities, such as small molecules, antibodies, biologics and nucleic acid-based therapies. The competition is likely to come from multiple sources, including large and specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic research institutions, government agencies and public and private research institutions. Many of our potential competitors, alone or with their strategic partners, have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development, clinical, marketing and manufacturing organizations. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approvals for their products faster or earlier than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.

2020 Private Investment

On July 17, 2020, we entered into a binding agreement with Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, or KfW, Glaxo Group Limited, Qatar Holding LLC and other investors, pursuant to which we agreed to issue new Series B shares in CureVac AG representing approximately 36% of the shares in CureVac AG in exchange for an aggregate investment of €560 million. As part of the investment, those investors who have subscribed for our Series A, B and C shares, or pre-IPO shareholders, became parties to an Investment and Shareholders’ Agreement, as amended, or the ISA. In addition, we entered into a relationship agreement with KfW and dievini, and KfW entered into a separate shareholders’ agreement with dievini and Mr. Hopp pursuant to which, among others, Mr. Hopp has agreed to purchase an aggregate of €100 million of our common shares in a concurrent private placement at a price per share equal to the public offering price in this public offering. Pursuant to the ISA, we also agreed to enter into a registration rights agreement with certain shareholders prior to the consummation of this offering. Such agreements are further described under the “Related Party Transactions.” We refer to the investment of KfW as the KfW Investment, the investment by Glaxo Group Limited as the GSK Investment and the KfW Investment and GSK Investment, together with the other concurrent investments, the 2020 Private Investment.

We are obligated to use the funds raised in the 2020 Private Investment solely to fund the (i) development of our proprietary pipeline, including earlier stage assets currently in preclinical development, (ii) research and development activities to expand our mRNA platform technology, in particular with respect to our vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases and (iii) manufacturing capacities for mRNA-based drug product candidates and products.

GlaxoSmithKline Collaboration Agreement

As part of the GSK Investment we also agreed to enter into a collaboration agreement with GSK pursuant to which we will collaborate with GSK to research, develop and commercialize prophylactic and therapeutic non-replicating mRNA-based vaccines and antibodies targeting infectious disease pathogens. For further information regarding our collaboration agreement with GSK please refer to the “Business — Collaborations.”

Corporate Reorganization

We were incorporated pursuant to the laws of the Netherlands as CureVac B.V. on April 7, 2020 to become a holding company for CureVac AG. Pursuant to the terms of a corporate reorganization that will be completed prior to the closing of this offering, all of the outstanding shares in CureVac AG will be contributed and transferred to CureVac B.V. in a capital increase in exchange for newly issued common shares of CureVac B.V. and, as a result, CureVac AG will become a wholly owned subsidiary of CureVac B.V.

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and the current shareholders of CureVac AG will become the shareholders of CureVac B.V. Prior to the closing of this offering, we intend to convert from CureVac B.V. into CureVac N.V. See “Corporate Reorganization.”

Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at Friedrich-Miescher-Strasse 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. Our telephone number at this address is +49 7071 9883 0. Our principal website is www.curevac.com. The information contained on our website is not part of this prospectus.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

As a company with less than $1.07 billion in revenue during our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:

•

a requirement to have only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations disclosure;

•

an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; and

•

to the extent that we no longer qualify as a foreign private issuer, (i) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (ii) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation, including golden parachute compensation.

We may take advantage of these provisions for up to five years or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue; (ii) the date we qualify as a “large accelerated filer” with at least $700 million of equity securities; (iii) the issuance, in any three-year period, by our company of more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities held by non-affiliates; and (iv) the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced burdens. We cannot predict if investors will find our common shares less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common shares and our share price may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can use the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Given that we currently report and expect to continue to report under IFRS as issued by the IASB, we have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we will adopt new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required by the IASB. Since IFRS makes no distinction between public and private companies for purposes of compliance with new or revised accounting standards, the requirements for our compliance as a private company and as a public company are the same.

Implications of Being a Foreign Private Issuer

We are also considered a “foreign private issuer.” In our capacity as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our managing directors, supervisory directors and our principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and “short-swing” profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our common shares. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose

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THE OFFERING

	Issuer			CureVac B.V., to be converted into and renamed CureVac N.V. prior to the closing of this offering.
	Common shares offered			We are offering common shares.
	Underwriters’ option to purchase additional common shares			We have granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional common shares from us within 30 days of the date of this prospectus.
	Concurrent Private Placement			Mr. Dietmar Hopp, has agreed, concurrently with, and subject to, the completion of this offering, to purchase from us a certain number of common shares with an aggregate value of €100 million at the initial public offering price per share. This purchase will be made by Mr. Hopp pursuant to the concurrent private placement. The closing of this offering is not conditioned upon the closing of the concurrent private placement.
	Common shares to be outstanding after this offering			common shares ( common shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common shares is exercised in full) assuming that we issue and sell common shares to Mr. Hopp in the concurrent private placement.
	Voting rights			Our common shares have one vote per share.
	Listing			We have applied to list our common shares on The Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “CVAC.”
	Use of proceeds			We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the offering will be (i) approximately $ ($ if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common shares is exercised in full), assuming an initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus; and (ii) additional net proceeds of €100 million from the concurrent private placement. We currently intend to use the net proceeds from the offering and the concurrent private placement, together with cash and cash equivalents on hand as follows: (i) to advance our lead oncology program, CV8102, through the completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial; (ii) to advance our lead vaccine program, CV7202, through the completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial; (iii) to fund clinical development of our mRNA vaccine program against SARS-CoV-2 through the completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial; (iv) to advance the development of our other preclinical and clinical programs; (v) to invest in further development of our mRNA technology platform; (vi) to fund the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities; and (vii) the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.”
	Dividend policy			We have never paid or declared any cash dividends on our common shares and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common shares in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain all available funds and any future

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				earnings to fund the development and expansion of our business. As of the completion of our corporate reorganization, under Dutch law, we may only pay dividends to the extent our shareholders’ equity (eigen vermogen) exceeds the sum of the paid-in and called-up share capital plus the reserves required to be maintained by Dutch law or by our articles of association and (if it concerns a distribution of profits) after adoption of the annual accounts by the general meeting from which it appears that such dividend distribution is allowed. Subject to such restrictions, any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our management board with the approval of our supervisory board and will depend upon a number of factors, including our results of operations, financial condition, future prospects, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our management board and supervisory board deem relevant.
	Lock-up agreements			We have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell or dispose of any shares of our share capital or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any shares of our share capital during the 180-day period following the date of this prospectus. Our managing directors and our supervisory directors, as well as substantially all of our existing shareholders, have agreed to substantially similar lock-up provisions, subject to certain exceptions.
	Risk factors			See “Risk Factors” and the other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should consider before deciding to invest in our common shares.
	Directed share program			At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to common shares, or % of common shares to be offered by this prospectus for sale, at the initial public offering price, through a directed share program. Common shares purchased through the directed share program will not be subject to a lock-up restriction, except in the case of common shares purchased by any of our directors or officers. We do not know if any of these potential investors will choose to purchase all or any portion of the allocated shares, but the number of common shares available for sale to the general public will be reduced to the extent these individuals or entities purchase such reserved common shares. Any reserved common shares that are not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same basis as the other common shares offered by this prospectus.

The number of common shares to be outstanding after this offering is based on common shares outstanding as of , 2020.

Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained in this prospectus assumes:

•

the consummation of the 2020 Private Investment;

•

the consummation of the concurrent private placement to Mr. Hopp of €100 million at a price per share equal to the public offering price in this public offering;

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SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The following summary consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss) for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019 of CureVac AG is derived from the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, which have been audited by Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, or Ernst & Young.

The following summary interim consolidated statement of financial position as of March 31, 2020 and the summary interim consolidated statement of comprehensive income (loss) for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020 of CureVac AG are derived from the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements referred to above and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments necessary to state fairly our financial position as of March 31, 2020 and our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020. Our historical results for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for a full year or any other interim period. We maintain our books and records in euros, and we prepare our financial statements under IFRS as issued by the IASB.

CureVac B.V. is a newly formed holding company formed for the purpose of effecting the offering and has not engaged in any activities except those incidental to its formation, the corporate reorganization and the initial public offering of our common shares. CureVac B.V. has no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities and will have no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities until the completion of our corporate reorganization. Accordingly, summary financial information for CureVac B.V. is not presented. CureVac AG’s financial statements, including the notes thereto, are included elsewhere in this prospectus. See “Corporate Reorganization.”

This financial information should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, included elsewhere in this prospectus.

	For the Years Ended December 31,				For the Three- Months Ended March 31,
	2018		2019		2019		2020
(in thousands of euros, except per share amounts)					(unaudited)
Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) Data:
Revenue		12,871		17,416		3,156		3,119
Cost of sales		(17,744)		(27,983)		(7,558)		(5,475)
Selling and distribution expenses		(1,085)		(1,755)		(198)		(330)
Research and development expenses		(41,722)		(43,242)		(10,862)		(10,902)
General and administrative expenses		(25,289)		(48,969)		(6,887)		(11,495)
Other operating income		808		5,587		732		1,995
Other operating expenses		(663)		(552)		(108)		(127)
Operating loss		(72,824)		(99,498)		(21,725)		(23,216)
Finance income		1,968		833		649		1,041
Finance expenses		(275)		(1,460)		(90)		(1,719)
Loss before income tax		(71,131)		(100,125)		(21,166)		(23,894)
Income tax benefit (expense)		(110)		252		(142)		44
Net loss for the year		(71,241)		(99,873)		(21,308)		(23,850)
Other comprehensive income/loss:
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss
Foreign currency adjustments		66		32		36		48
Total comprehensive loss for the year		(71,175)		(99,841)		(21,272)		(23,802)

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As of March 31, 2020

Actual

Pro
Forma(1)

Pro Forma
As Adjusted(2)(3)

(in thousands of euros)
(unaudited)

Statement of Financial Position Data:

Cash and cash equivalents

43,474

Total assets

155,656

Total liabilities

199,313

Total equity

(43,657)

(1)

Pro forma to give effect to (i) the consummation of the 2020 Private Investment, (ii) the consummation of the concurrent private placement to Mr. Hopp of €100 million of our common shares at a price per share equal to the public offering price in this public offering, (iii) the repayment in full of the Convertible Loans and (iv) our corporate reorganization.

(2)

Pro forma as adjusted to give further effect to the issuance and sale of common shares in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common shares. The as adjusted information presented above is illustrative only and will vary based on the actual public offering price, the actual number of common shares offered by us and the other terms of the offering determined at pricing.

(3)

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) each of cash and cash equivalents, total assets and total equity by $ million, assuming the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We may also increase or decrease the number of common shares we are offering. Each increase (decrease) of 1.0 million in the number of common shares offered by us would increase (decrease) each of cash and cash equivalents, total assets, share capital and total equity by approximately $ million, assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

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RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and the other information in this prospectus before making an investment in our common shares. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected if any of these risks occurs, and as a result, the market price of our common shares could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks facing our company.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital

We cannot assure you of the adequacy of our capital resources, including the proceeds from this offering, to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates, and a failure to obtain additional capital, if needed, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate one or more of our product development programs or commercialization efforts.

As of March 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents amounting to €43.5 million. We believe that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future developing our proprietary product candidates. These expenditures will include costs associated with research and development, conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, seeking regulatory approvals, as well as launching and commercializing products approved for sale, if any, costs associated with manufacturing products and maintaining manufacturing facilities. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise. Because the outcomes of our anticipated clinical trials are highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our proprietary product candidates.

Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to:

•

our ability to successfully complete this offering;

•

the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing product candidates and maintaining our mRNA technology platform;

•

the number and characteristics of product candidates that we pursue;

•

the rate of enrollment, progress, cost and outcomes of our clinical trials, which may or may not meet their primary end-points;

•

the timing of, and cost involved in, conducting non-clinical studies that are regulatory prerequisites to conducting clinical trials of sufficient duration for successful product registration;

•

the cost of manufacturing clinical supply and establishing commercial supply of our product candidates;

•

the costs and timing of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending any intellectual property-related claims;

•

the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining regulatory approvals for our product candidates if clinical trials are successful;

•

the timing of, and costs involved in, conducting post-approval studies that may be required by regulatory authorities;

•

the cost of commercialization activities for our product candidates, if any of our product candidates are approved for sale, including product manufacturing, marketing and distribution of product candidates generated from our mRNA technology platform and any other product opportunity for which we receive marketing approval in the future;

•

the terms and timing of any collaborative, licensing and other arrangements that we are currently party to or may establish, including any required milestone and royalty payments thereunder and any non-dilutive funding that we may receive;

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•

the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing patent claims, including litigation costs, if any, and the outcome of any such litigation;

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the timing, receipt, and amount of sales of, or royalties or milestones on, our future products, if any;

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the costs to recruit and build the organization including key executives needed to transform to a commercial organization; and

•

the costs of operating as a public company, including hiring additional personnel.

In addition, our operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us. As a result of these factors, we may need additional funds sooner than planned. We expect to finance future cash needs primarily through a combination of public or private equity offerings, strategic collaborations and debt financing. If sufficient funds on acceptable terms are not available when needed, or at all, we could be forced to significantly reduce operating expenses and delay, limit, reduce or terminate one or more of our product development programs or commercialization efforts, which would have a negative impact on our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

We have incurred significant losses since our inception. We expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

We have incurred significant losses since our inception. Our consolidated net loss for the three-months ended March 31, 2020 and for the year ended December 31, 2019 was €23.9 million and €99.9 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2020, our accumulated deficit €539.8 million. We expect to continue to incur losses in the future as we continue our research and development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates and maintain and develop new technology platforms, prepare for and begin to commercialize any approved product candidates and add infrastructure and personnel to support our product development efforts and operations as a public company in the United States. We have devoted substantially all of our financial resources and efforts to research and development, including preclinical studies and clinical trials and development of our manufacturing technology and we anticipate that our expenses will continue to increase over the next several years as we continue these activities. The net losses and negative cash flows incurred to date, together with expected future losses, have had, and likely will continue to have, an adverse effect on our shareholders’ deficit and working capital. The amount of future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with biopharmaceutical product development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to achieve profitability. For example, our expenses could increase if we are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, or other regulatory agencies to perform trials in addition to those that we currently expect to perform, or if there are any delays in completing our currently planned clinical trials, the partnering process for our proprietary product candidates or in the development of any of our proprietary product candidates.

Our revenue to date has been primarily revenue from the license of our proprietary technology platform and from milestone payments for the development of product candidates against targets provided by our collaborators. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability in the future depends in large part on our ability, alone or with our collaborators, to achieve milestones and to successfully complete the development of, obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for, and commercialize, our product candidates and technology platform. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including developing product candidates, obtaining regulatory approval for such product candidates, and manufacturing, marketing and selling those product candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval. We may never succeed in these activities and may never generate revenue from product sales that is significant enough to achieve profitability. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Our failure to become or remain profitable could depress our market value and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, develop other product candidates or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company could also cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

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Even if we consummate this offering, we will require substantial additional financing, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our shareholders, including purchasers of common shares in this offering, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technology or product candidates.

We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our planned operations and as we become and operate as a public company. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common shares, convertible securities or other equity securities, your ownership interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect your rights as a common shareholder. In addition, debt financing, if available, may result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, creating liens, redeeming shares or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. For example, in June 2020, we signed a financing arrangement with the European Investment Bank, or EIB under which EIB agreed to provide us with a line of credit in an amount of up to €75 million. Pursuant to the financing agreement we are subject to several restrictive covenants on our business activities as described in Schedule H of the financing agreement, including limitation on certain merger and acquisition transactions, disposition of certain of certain assets and mandatory maintenance of such assets. See Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results Of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — European Investment Bank Loan. In addition, securing financing could require a substantial amount of time and attention from our management and may divert a disproportionate amount of their attention away from day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our management’s ability to oversee the development of our product candidates.

If we raise additional funds through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of our product candidates or other research and development initiatives. Our current or future license agreements may also be terminated if we are unable to meet the payment or other obligations under the agreements.

We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

We have limited financial and managerial resources, and therefore we intend to focus on developing product candidates for specific indications that we believe are most likely to succeed, in terms of both their potential for marketing approval and potential for successful commercialization, if approved. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that may prove to have greater commercial potential.

Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable product candidates. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to the product candidate.

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We depend on strategic partnerships with other companies to assist in the research, development and commercialization of our platform and product candidates. If our existing or future partners do not perform as expected, if we fail to maintain any of these collaborations or if these collaborations are not successful, our ability to commercialize our product candidates successfully and to generate revenues through technology licensing or otherwise may be materially adversely affected.

We have established strategic partnerships and intend to continue to establish strategic partnerships with third parties to research, develop and commercialize our platform and existing and future product candidates. We have entered into strategic partnerships with Genmab, Arcturus, Acuitas, CRISPR Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CEPI and Tesla Grohmann, among others. For certain of these programs, including our collaborations with Genmab, CRISPR Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim and GSK, we will depend on our partners to design and conduct their clinical studies. As a result, we may not be able to conduct these programs in the manner or on the time schedule we currently contemplate, which may negatively impact our business operations. While we have certain contractual rights to information about pre-clinical and clinical developments and results under certain of our collaboration agreements, including our agreements with Genmab, Boehringer Ingelheim, CRISPR Therapeutics and GSK, we cannot be certain that clinical trials conducted in connection with such collaboration programs will be conducted in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. In addition, if any of these partners withdraw support for these programs or proposed products or otherwise impair their development, our business could be negatively affected. Also, our inability to find a partner for any of our product candidates, may result in our termination of that specific product candidate program or evaluation of a product candidate in a particular indication. Even if we found a partner for one or more of our product candidates, there is no assurance that upon the approval of one or more of such product candidates we will be able to successfully co-commercialize such products.

In addition, our existing licenses and collaboration agreements, including our agreements with Genmab, Arcturus, Acuitas, Boehringer Ingelheim, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CRISPR Therapeutics, GSK and CEPI, impose, and any future licenses, collaborations or other intellectual property agreements we enter into are likely to impose, various development, commercialization, funding, milestone, royalty, diligence, sublicensing, insurance, patent prosecution and enforcement or other obligations on us. Furthermore, our licenses and collaboration agreements impose, and any future agreement we enter into may also impose, restrictions on our ability to license certain of our intellectual property to third parties or to develop or commercialize certain product candidates or technologies. In spite of our best efforts, our collaborators may conclude that we have breached our obligations under our agreements, in which case, we may be required to pay damages and the collaborator may have the right to terminate the agreement. Any of the foregoing could result in us being unable to develop, manufacture and sell products that are covered by the licensed technology, enable a competitor to gain access to the licensed technology or disrupt our right to receive funding or milestone or royalty payments. See “Business — Collaborations.”

In the future, we may enter into additional collaborations to fund our development programs or to gain access to sales, marketing or distribution capabilities. Under certain of our collaboration agreements, including our collaborations with Genmab, CRISPR Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim and GSK, we grant our partners an exclusive license to develop and commercialize certain classes of products containing our mRNA technology for specific targets and receive license fees, research and development funding, milestone payments and/or, if a product is approved for marketing, sales royalties in return. Following the discovery and preclinical testing phase, in certain cases, our partners are solely responsible for the further development of the product candidate and therefore exercise full control over its further development and potential commercialization. In certain cases, including under our collaboration with Genmab, we have a limited right to co-commercialize collaboration products. While certain of our existing licenses and collaboration agreements, including our agreements with Genmab, Boehringer Ingelheim, CRISPR Therapeutics and GSK, impose development or commercialization obligations on our collaborators, we cannot be certain that our collaboration partners will allocate sufficient resources or attention to our collaboration programs or that they will progress our collaboration programs consistent with the best interests of our business. Our existing collaborations, and any future collaborations we enter into, therefore may pose a number of risks, including the following:

•

collaborators may have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations;

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collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected by us or by health authorities, such as the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities;

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collaborators may dissolve, merge, be bought or may otherwise become unwilling to fulfill the initial terms of the collaboration with us;

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collaborators may fail to perform their obligations under the collaboration agreements or may be slow in performing their obligations;

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collaborations may be terminated for the convenience of the collaborator and, if terminated, we could be required to raise additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates;

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collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of any product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding, or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities or the actual or perceived competitive situation in a specific indication;

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collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or may require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;

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collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our products or product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours;

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product candidates discovered in collaboration with us may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to cease to devote resources to the commercialization of our product candidates;

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a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such product or products;

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disagreements with collaborators, licensors or licensees, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation and breach of contract claims, payment obligations or the preferred course of development, might cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of products or product candidates, might lead to additional responsibilities, including financial obligations for us with respect to products or product candidates, or delays or withholding of any payments due or might result in litigation or arbitration, any of which would be time consuming and expensive, and could limit our ability to execute on our strategies;

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collaborators may not properly obtain, maintain, enforce or defend our intellectual property or may use our proprietary information in such a way that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation; and

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collaborators may infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability.

If our collaborations on research and development candidates do not result in the successful development and commercialization of products or if one of our collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may not receive any future research funding or milestone or royalty payments under the collaboration. If we do not receive the funding we expect under these agreements, our development of our product candidates could be delayed and we may need additional resources to develop our proprietary product candidates. Moreover, our relationships with our partners may divert significant time and effort of our scientific staff and management team and require effective allocation of our resources to multiple internal and collaborative projects. All of the risks relating to product development, regulatory approval and commercialization described in this prospectus also apply to the activities of our program collaborators.

Additionally, subject to its contractual obligations to us, if one of our collaborators is involved in a business combination, the collaborator might deemphasize or terminate the development or commercialization

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of any product candidate licensed to it by us. If one of our collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may find it more difficult to attract new collaborators in a timely manner. For more information on our current collaboration agreements, see “Business — Collaborations.”

Risks Related to the Development, Clinical Testing and Commercialization of Our Product Candidates

Our approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on mRNA is unproven, and we do not know whether we will be able to successfully develop any products.

We focus on delivering mRNA encoding functional versions of proteins into cells without altering the underlying DNA. Our future success depends on the successful development of this novel therapeutic or vaccine approach. Relatively few mRNA-based product candidates have been tested in animals or humans, and the data underlying the feasibility of developing mRNA-based products are both preliminary and limited. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not aware of any product that utilizes mRNA as a therapeutic or prophylactic vaccine being approved in the United States or Europe. We have not yet succeeded and may not succeed in demonstrating the efficacy and safety of any of our product candidates in clinical trials or in obtaining marketing approval thereafter. We have completed an interim analysis of safety and immunogenicity in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial for our CV7202 (Rabies vaccine) product candidate and have ongoing Phase 1 clinical trials for our CV8102 (cMEL, ACC, SCC and HNSCC) and Phase 1/2 clinical trials for BI 1361849 (former CV9202) (Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer, or NSCLC) product candidates. We have not yet completed any late-stage clinical studies. As such, there may be adverse effects from treatment with any of our current or future product candidates that we cannot predict at this time.

As a result of these factors, it is more difficult for us to predict the time and cost of product candidate development, and we cannot predict whether the application of our technology platform, or any similar or competitive mRNA platforms, will result in the development and regulatory approval of any products. There can be no assurance that any development problems we experience in the future related to our technology platform or any of our research programs will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs, or that such development problems can be solved. Any of these factors may prevent us from completing our preclinical studies or any clinical trials that we may initiate or commercializing any product candidates we may develop on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.

Clinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain timelines and uncertain outcomes, and results of earlier studies and trials may not be predictive of future trial results. If clinical trials of our product candidates or production of our product candidates are prolonged or delayed, we may be unable to obtain required regulatory approvals, and therefore be unable to commercialize our product candidates on a timely basis or at all.

Our business is dependent on the successful development, regulatory approval and commercialization of product candidates based on our technology platform. If we and our collaborators are unable to obtain approval for and effectively commercialize our product candidates, our business would be significantly harmed. Even if we complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials, the marketing approval process is expensive, time-consuming and uncertain, and we may not be able to obtain approvals for the commercialization of any product candidates we may develop.

To obtain the requisite regulatory approvals to market and sell any of our product candidates, we must demonstrate through extensive preclinical studies and clinical trials that our products are safe and effective in humans. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. For example, our Phase 2b clinical trial with CV9104, one of our first generation vaccines based on protamine formulation, that was designed to evaluate the investigational mRNA-based cancer vaccine in patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer, failed to meet the primary endpoint of improving overall survival despite proceeding through preclinical and Phase 1 studies. Progression-free survival was similar in both arms of the clinical trial. In addition, our past programs with protamine based vaccines (CV9201, CV9103, CV9104 and CV7201) were discontinued because the level of immunogenicity achieved in clinical trials was considered insufficient. BI 1361849 (former

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CV9202) is the only protamine based vaccine formulation in current clinical trials. While we have assessed the results of past trials and these have informed our approach going forward, we can provide no assurance that future clinical trials will not be discontinued or fail to meet their specified endpoints. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. Our future clinical trial results may not be successful.

Clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities’ legal requirements, regulations or guidelines and are subject to oversight by these governmental agencies and Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, at the medical institutions where the clinical trials are conducted. In addition, clinical trials must be conducted with supplies of our product candidates produced in accordance with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, and other requirements. We depend on medical institutions and clinical research organizations, or CROs, to conduct our clinical trials in compliance with good clinical practice, or GCP, standards. While we control the critical steps of manufacturing in-house, we rely on contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, to perform non-critical steps of the manufacture and supply of our product candidates, such as starting material, formulation and fill and finish. Failure to follow and document adherence to such regulations or other regulatory requirements may lead to significant delays in the availability of product for our clinical trials, result in the termination of or a clinical hold being placed on one or more of our clinical trials, or delay or prevent submission or approval of marketing applications for our product candidates.

To the extent our CROs fail to enroll participants for our clinical trials, fail to conduct the trial in accordance with GCP requirements or are delayed for a significant time in the execution of trials, including achieving full enrollment, we may be affected by increased costs, program delays or both, which may harm our business. To date, we have not completed clinical trials sufficient for obtaining marketing approvals for any of our product candidates. Our CV7202 (Rabies), BI 1361849 (former CV9202) (NSCLC) and CV8102 (Melanoma, Adenoidcystic Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Cancer of Skin and Head and Neck) product candidates are in clinical development and all other of our product candidates are in the preclinical development stage.

The completion of clinical trials for our clinical product candidates may be delayed, suspended or terminated as a result of many factors, including but not limited to:

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the delay or refusal of regulators or IRBs to authorize us to commence a clinical trial at a prospective trial site and changes in regulatory requirements, policies and guidelines;

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delays or failure to reach agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and clinical trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;

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delays in patient enrollment and variability in the number and types of patients available for clinical trials, including as a result of COVID-19;

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the inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients in trials to ensure adequate statistical power to detect statistically significant treatment effects;

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negative or inconclusive results, which may require us to conduct additional preclinical or clinical trials or to abandon projects that we expect to be promising;

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shortage of materials required for the production of our product candidates including due to events surrounding COVID-19;

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safety or tolerability concerns causing us to suspend or terminate a trial if it is determined that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;

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regulators or IRBs requiring that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or safety concerns, among others;

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lower than anticipated retention rates of patients and volunteers in clinical trials;

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our CROs or clinical trial sites failing to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all, deviating from the protocol or dropping out of a trial;

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delays relating to adding new clinical trial sites;

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difficulty in maintaining contact with patients after treatment, resulting in incomplete data;

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delays in establishing the appropriate dosage levels;

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the quality or stability of the product candidate falling below acceptable standards;

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the inability to produce or obtain sufficient quantities of the product candidate to complete clinical trials on time, or delays in sufficiently developing, characterizing or controlling a manufacturing process suitable for clinical trials;

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exceeding budgeted costs due to difficulty in accurately predicting costs associated with clinical trials;

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lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial;

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developments observed in trials conducted by competitors for related technology that raises general FDA or foreign regulatory authority concerns about risk to patients of gene therapy technology;

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determination that the product will not be producible at the manufacturing stage; and

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transfer of manufacturing processes to larger-scale facilities operated by a CMO or by us, and delays or failure by our CMOs or us to make any necessary changes to such manufacturing process.

Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the likelihood that we encounter such difficulties or delays in initiating, enrolling, conducting or completing our planned and ongoing clinical trials. We could also encounter delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us, by the IRBs of the institutions in which such trials are being conducted, by a Data Safety Monitoring Board for such trial or by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Such authorities may impose such a suspension or termination due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a drug, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial. In addition, changes in regulatory requirements and policies may occur, and we may need to amend clinical trial protocols to comply with these changes. Amendments may require us to resubmit our clinical trial protocols to IRBs for reexamination, which may impact the costs, timing or successful completion of a clinical trial.

In addition, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. Many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval for the product candidates. The FDA, the EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and in determining when or whether regulatory approval will be obtained for any of our product candidates. Even if we believe the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA, the EMA or any other regulatory authority.

In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety and/or efficacy results between different trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, adherence to the dosing regimen and other trial protocols and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants.

If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates that we develop beyond the trials and testing that we contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are unfavorable or are only modestly favorable, or if there are safety concerns associated with our other product candidates, we may:

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be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;

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not obtain marketing approval at all;

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obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;

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obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings;

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be subject to additional post-marketing testing or other requirements; or

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remove the product from the market after obtaining marketing approval.

Our product development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or receiving marketing approvals and we may be required to obtain additional funds to complete clinical trials. We cannot assure you that our clinical trials will begin as planned or be completed on schedule, if at all, or that we will not need to restructure our trials after they have begun. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which may harm our business and results of operations. In addition, some of the factors that cause, or lead to, clinical trial delays may ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates.

Interim, “top-line,” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data becomes available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.

From time to time, we may publicly disclose preliminary or top-line data from our preclinical studies and clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the top-line or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Top-line data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, top-line data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available.

From time to time, we may also disclose interim data from our preclinical studies and clinical trials. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data becomes available or as patients from our clinical trials continue other treatments for their disease. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects. Further, disclosure of interim data by us or by our competitors could result in volatility in the price of our common stock after this offering.

Further, others, including regulatory agencies, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate or product and our company in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and you or others may not agree with what we determine is material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure.

If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed and result in increased costs and longer development periods or otherwise adversely affected.

We will be required to identify and enroll a sufficient number of patients for our planned clinical trials. Trial participant enrollment could be limited in future trials given that many potential participants may be ineligible because of pre-existing conditions, medical treatments or other reasons. We may not be able

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to initiate or continue clinical trials required by the FDA, EMA or other foreign regulatory agencies or any of our other product candidates that we pursue if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients or volunteers to participate in these clinical trials.

Patient enrollment is affected by other factors, including:

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severity of the disease under investigation;

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design of the clinical trial protocol;

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size and nature of the patient population;

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eligibility criteria for the trial in question;

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perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under trial;

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perceived safety and tolerability of the product candidate;

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proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients;

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availability of competing therapies and clinical trials;

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clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the drug being studied in relation to other available therapies, including standard-of-care and any new drugs that may be approved for the indications we are investigating;

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efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;

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effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our clinical trial sites;

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patient referral practices of physicians; and

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our ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment.

We also may encounter difficulties in identifying and enrolling such patients with a stage of disease appropriate for our ongoing or future clinical trials. In addition, the process of finding and diagnosing patients may prove costly. Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for any of our clinical trials would result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical trials.

We may face business disruption and related risks resulting from of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have a material adverse effect on our business plan or clinical trials.

The development of our product candidates could be disrupted and materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the evolving actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. Site initiation, participant recruitment and enrollment, participant dosing, distribution of clinical trial materials, study monitoring and data analysis may be paused or delayed (or continue to be paused or delayed) due to changes in hospital or university policies, federal, state or local regulations or restrictions, prioritization of hospital resources toward pandemic efforts, travel restrictions, concerns for patient safety in a pandemic environment, or other reasons related to the pandemic. While we have not faced significant delays, patient recruitment for our product candidates may be adversely impacted. For example, our ongoing trials for CV8102 may be delayed as a result of new oncology sites being inaccessible in Europe and the resulting increase in the competition for new patients. In addition, while we have not had any participants withdraw from our clinical trials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can provide no assurance that patients will not withdraw from our trials in the future, which could delay our clinical development efforts for the relevant product candidates. Over the period from February to May 2020, sites in France, Italy and Spain were not available for trials. While these sites have resumed screening participants in June 2020, we can provide no assurance that sites will not be inaccessible again. In addition, participants enrolled in our CV7202 clinical trial could not access clinical sites for 3 months for blood draw samples, resulting in the need for us to adapt our clinical protocol to address the timing of site visits.

We are currently devoting significant resources to the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. Although there is no assurance that we will be able to complete development of the vaccine successfully or

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in a timely manner, such development may impair our ability to timely progress other product candidates in clinical trials and increases our costs. Upon the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we determined to make the development of a vaccine candidate against COVID-19 a priority and to use our large scale GMP III facility to provide required material for a potential vaccine product candidate. While there is currently no larger production batch required for our other product candidates, this prioritization could impact clinical development of our other product candidates if such a production need arises. Our research personnel dedicated to infectious diseases focused its efforts on optimizing vaccine constructs in preparation of a Phase 1 clinical trial, and this focus may delay development of other potential infectious disease product candidates. We also postponed initially planned preclinical work on an influenza vaccine to later in 2020. We can provide no assurances that our focus on clinical development of a vaccine candidate against COVID-19 will not adversely impact clinical development of our other product candidates.

Some of our clinical trial sites are located in countries, such as Spain and Italy, which have experienced a shortage of medical staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the event that clinical trial sites are adversely impacted or closed to enrollment in our trials, such impacts or closures could have a material adverse effect on our clinical trial plans and timelines. We may face difficulties enrolling or retaining patients in our ongoing and planned clinical trials if patients are affected by the virus or are fearful of visiting or traveling to our clinical trial sites because of the pandemic. In addition, due to the disruption of the pandemic to the global business outlook, we may face a shortage in the supply of materials that are necessary for the production of our product candidates. We cannot predict whether we will be able to continue to enroll new patients in our clinical trials, whether the clinical sites will continue to operate in a reduced capacity for the long term and whether strict restrictions on social distancing and mobility will resume due to a second wave of COVID-19. For example, some countries that recently lifted restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 have reported increasing number of COVID-19 cases and as a result may re-impose restrictions that could delay our clinical trials. Due to the evolving situation with respect to COVID-19, we are unable to predict the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on our business and ability to progress clinical development of our product candidates.

Moreover, if COVID-19 continues to spread, we may experience ongoing disruptions that could severely impact our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials, including:

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delays in receiving authorization from local regulatory authorities to initiate our planned clinical trials;

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changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 pandemic which may require us to change the ways in which our clinical trials are conducted, which may result in unexpected costs, or to discontinue the clinical trials altogether;

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diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials;

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interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site monitoring, due to limitations on travel imposed or recommended by federal or state governments, employers and others, or interruption of clinical trial subject visits and study procedures, the occurrence of which could affect the integrity of clinical trial data;

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risk that participants enrolled in our clinical trials will acquire COVID-19 while the clinical trial is ongoing, which could impact the results of the clinical trial, including by increasing the number of observed adverse events;

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interruptions in preclinical studies due to restricted or limited operations at our research and development laboratory facility;

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delays in necessary interactions with local regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or forced furlough of government employees;

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limitations in employee resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of our clinical trials, including because of sickness of employees or their families or the desire of employees to avoid contact with large groups of people;

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refusal of the FDA to accept data from clinical trials in affected geographies; and

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interruption or delays to our sourced discovery and clinical activities.

These and other disruptions in our operations and the global economy could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.

In addition, quarantines, travel restrictions, shelter-in-place and similar government orders, or the perception that such orders, shutdowns or other restrictions on the conduct of business operations could occur, related to COVID-19 or other infectious diseases could impact personnel at third-party manufacturing facilities upon which we rely, or the availability or cost of materials, which could disrupt the supply chain for our product candidates. We have taken a series of actions aimed at safeguarding our employees and business associates, including implementing a work-from-home policy for employees except for those related to our production and laboratory operations, and these arrangements may cause reduced productivity of our employees and/or delays or disruptions of our business operations.

Our suppliers, licensors or collaborators could also be disrupted by conditions related to COVID-19, possibly resulting in disruption to our supply chain, clinical trials, partnerships or operations. If our suppliers, licensors, CMOs, CROs or collaborators are unable or fail to fulfill their obligations to us for any reason, our ability to continue meeting clinical supply demand for our product candidates or otherwise advancing development of our product candidates may become impaired.

The spread of COVID-19 and actions taken to reduce its spread may also materially affect us economically. While the potential economic impact brought by, and during the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, there could be a significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could in the future negatively affect our liquidity and financial position. COVID-19 and actions taken to reduce its spread continue to rapidly evolve. We continue to assess the impact COVID-19 may have on our clinical trial timelines, our ability to enroll candidates for clinical trials and obtain the materials that are required for the production of our product candidates, but there can be no assurance that this assessment will enable us to avoid part or all of any impact from the spread of COVID-19 or its consequences. The extent to which COVID-19 and global efforts to contain its spread may impede the development of our product candidates, reduce the productivity of our employees, disrupt our supply chains, delay our clinical trials, reduce our access to capital or limit our business development activities, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.

To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those relating to the timing and results of our clinical trials, our ability to obtain materials that are required for the production of our product candidates, and our financing needs.

All of our proprietary product candidates are still in preclinical or clinical development. We cannot give any assurance that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval, and if we are unable to obtain regulatory approval and ultimately commercialize our product candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.

All of our proprietary product candidates are still in preclinical or early clinical development. Although we may receive certain payments from our collaboration partners, including upfront payments, payments for achieving certain development, regulatory or commercial milestones and royalties, our ability to generate revenue from our product candidates’ sales is dependent on receipt of regulatory approval for, and successful commercialization of, such product candidates, which may never occur. Our business and future success is in particular dependent on our ability to develop, either alone or in partnership, successfully, receive regulatory approval for and then successfully commercialize our proprietary product candidates. Each of our product candidates will require additional preclinical and/or clinical development, regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions, manufacturing supply, substantial investment and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenue from product sales or royalties. We are not permitted to market or promote any of our product candidates before we receive regulatory approval from applicable regulatory authorities. The success of our product candidates will depend on several factors, including the following:

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successful completion of preclinical and/or clinical studies;

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negative or inconclusive results from our clinical trials, the clinical trials of our collaborators or the clinical trials of others for product candidates similar to ours, leading to a decision or requirement to conduct additional preclinical testing or clinical trials or abandon a program;

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successful enrollment of patients in, and completion of, clinical trials;

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strategic commitment to particular product candidates and indications by us and our collaborators;

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receipt of regulatory authorizations from applicable regulatory authorities for future clinical trials;

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receipt of product approvals, including marketing approvals, from applicable regulatory authorities;

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successful completion of all safety studies required to obtain regulatory approval in the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions for our product candidates;

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obtaining and maintaining patent and trade secret protection or regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates;

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launching commercial sales of our product candidates, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others;

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acceptance of the product candidates, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community and third-party payors;

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effectively competing with other therapies;

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obtaining and maintaining coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors;

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obtaining, maintaining, enforcing and defending intellectual property and intellectual property-related claims;

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maintaining a continued acceptable safety and quality profile of the product candidates following approval; and

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maintaining a continued, sufficient supply of drug substance in acceptable quality.

If we do not achieve one or more of these factors in a complete and timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and, in case of product candidates, technologies and licenses we have acquired, may result in a significant impairment of assets.

Although we expect to submit biologics license applications, or BLAs, for our mRNA-based product candidates in the United States, and in the European Union, mRNA-based medicines have been classified as gene therapy medicinal products, other jurisdictions may consider our mRNA-based product candidates to be new drugs, not biologics or gene therapy medicinal products, and require different marketing applications. In addition, we have not previously submitted a BLA, to the FDA or similar regulatory approval filings to comparable foreign authorities, for any product candidate, and we cannot be certain that any of our product candidates will be successful in clinical trials or receive regulatory approval. Further, our product candidates may not receive regulatory approval even if they are successful in clinical trials. If we do not receive regulatory approvals for our product candidates, we may not be able to continue our operations. Even if we successfully obtain regulatory approvals to market one or more of our product candidates, our revenues will be dependent, in part, upon the size of the markets in the territories for which we gain regulatory approval and have commercial rights. If the markets for patient subsets that we are targeting are not as significant as we estimate, we may not generate significant revenues from sales of such products, if approved.

We plan to seek regulatory approval to commercialize our product candidates both in the United States and the EU, and potentially in additional foreign countries. While the scope of regulatory approval is similar in other countries, to obtain separate regulatory approval in many other countries, we must comply

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with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of such countries regarding safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials and commercial sales, pricing and distribution of our product candidates, and we cannot predict success in these jurisdictions.

We have no history of commercializing pharmaceutical products, which may make it difficult to evaluate the prospects for our future viability.

We commenced operations in 2000 and have a long track record of performing clinical trials with multiple product candidates since 2008. Our operations to date have been limited to establishing our company, raising capital, developing our proprietary mRNA technology platform, identifying and testing potential product candidates and conducting clinical trials. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully conduct late-stage clinical trials, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial-scale product, or arrange for a third-party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Accordingly, you should consider our prospects in light of the costs, uncertainties, delays and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in the early stages of development, especially clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies such as ours. Any predictions you make about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products.

We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known or unknown factors in achieving our business objectives. We will eventually need to transition from a company with a development focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition.

We expect our financial condition and operating results to continue to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, you should not rely upon the results of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance.

Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label or result in significant negative consequences following regulatory approval, if any.

Undesirable side effects that may be caused by our product candidates could cause us, our collaboration partners or the regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Results of our trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects. In such an event, our trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. The product-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.

Clinical trials assess a sample of the potential patient population. With a limited number of patients and duration of exposure, rare and severe side effects of our product candidates may only be uncovered with a significantly larger number of patients exposed to the product candidate. If our product candidates receive regulatory approval and we or others identify undesirable side effects caused by such product candidates (or any other similar products) after such approval, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

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regulatory authorities may withdraw or limit their approval of such product candidates and require us to take our approved product(s) off the market;

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regulatory authorities may require the addition of labeling statements, such as a “boxed” warning or a contraindication, or submission of field alerts to physicians and pharmacies;

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we may be required to create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients;

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we may be required to change the way such product candidates are distributed or administered, conduct additional clinical trials or change the labeling of the product candidates;

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actual or potential drug-related side effects could negatively affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete a trial for our products or product candidates;

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market acceptance of our products by patients and physicians may be reduced and sales of the product may decrease significantly;

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regulatory authorities may require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, plan to mitigate risks, which could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools;

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we may be subject to regulatory investigations and government enforcement actions;

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we may decide or be required to remove such product candidates from the marketplace;

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we could be sued and potentially held liable for injury caused to individuals exposed to or taking our product candidates;

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sales of the product(s) may decrease substantially; and

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our reputation may suffer.

Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product candidates and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing our product candidates, if approved, and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

No mRNA product has been approved, and none may ever be approved. mRNA drug development has substantial clinical development and regulatory risks due to the novel and unprecedented nature of this new category of medicines.

As a potential new category of therapeutics, to our knowledge, no mRNA immunotherapies have been approved by the FDA, EMA or other regulatory agency. Successful discovery and development of mRNA-based (and other) products by either us or our collaborators is highly uncertain and depends on numerous factors, many of which are beyond our or their control. Our product candidates that appear promising in the early phases of development may fail to advance, experience delays in the clinic or clinical holds, or fail to reach the market for many reasons, including:

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discovery efforts aimed at identifying potential immunotherapies may not be successful;

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nonclinical or preclinical study results may show product candidates to be less effective than desired or have harmful or problematic side effects;

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clinical trial results may show the product candidates to be less effective than expected, including a failure to meet one or more endpoints or have unacceptable side effects or toxicities;

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manufacturing failures or insufficient supply of GMP materials for clinical trials, or higher than expected cost could delay or set back clinical trials, or make our product candidates commercially unattractive;

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our improvements in the manufacturing processes may not be sufficient to satisfy the clinical or commercial demand of our product candidates or regulatory requirements for clinical trials;

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changes that we make to optimize our manufacturing, testing or formulating of GMP materials could impact the safety, tolerability and efficacy of our product candidates;

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pricing or reimbursement issues or other factors could delay clinical trials or make any immunotherapy uneconomical or noncompetitive with other therapies;

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the failure to timely advance our programs or receive the necessary regulatory approvals, or a delay in receiving such approvals, due to, among other reasons, slow or failure to complete

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enrollment in clinical trials, withdrawal by trial participants from trials, failure to achieve trial endpoints, additional time requirements for data analysis, data integrity issues, BLA, MAA or the equivalent application, discussions with the FDA or the EMA, a regulatory request for additional nonclinical or clinical data, or safety formulation or manufacturing issues may lead to our inability to obtain sufficient funding; and

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the proprietary rights, products and technologies of our competitors may prevent our immunotherapies from being commercialized.

Although we expect to submit biologics license applications, or BLAs, for our mRNA-based product candidates in the United States and in the European Union, mRNA-based medicines have been classified as gene therapy medicinal products. Unlike certain gene therapies that irreversibly alter cell DNA and may cause certain side effects, mRNA-based medicines are designed not to irreversibly change cell DNA. Side effects observed in other gene therapies, however, could negatively impact the perception of immunotherapies despite the differences in mechanism. In addition, because no mRNA-based product has been approved, the regulatory pathway in the United States and other jurisdictions for approval is uncertain. The length of time necessary to complete clinical trials and submit an application for marketing approval by a regulatory authority varies significantly from one pharmaceutical product to the next and may be difficult to predict.

The regulatory approval processes of the FDA and comparable foreign authorities are lengthy, time consuming and inherently unpredictable and if we fail to obtain regulatory approval in any jurisdiction, we will not be able to commercialize our products in that jurisdiction and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, may be materially adversely affected.

The time required to obtain approval by the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign authorities is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. In addition, approval laws, regulations, policies or the type and amount of clinical data or other information necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. We have not obtained regulatory approval for any product candidate, and it is possible that none of our existing product candidates or any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future will ever obtain regulatory approval.

Our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:

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the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical trials;

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we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that a product candidate is safe and effective for its proposed indication;

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the designs or our execution of clinical trials might not be considered adequate, or the results of clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical significance required, by the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for approval;

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we may be unable to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;

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the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;

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the data collected may not be sufficient to support the submission of a BLA or other submission, or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States, the European Union or elsewhere;

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the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve our manufacturing processes or facilities or those of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and

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the laws, regulations or policies of the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data or other regulatory submissions insufficient for approval.

This lengthy approval process as well as the unpredictability of future clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval to market any of our product candidates, which would significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects. The FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and determining when or whether regulatory approval will be obtained for any of our product candidates. Even if we believe the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA, the EMA or any other regulatory authority.

In order to commercialize our products in more than one jurisdiction, we will be required to obtain separate regulatory approvals in each market and to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The approval procedures vary from country to country and may require additional testing, administrative review periods, agreements with pricing authorities or other steps. Satisfying these and other regulatory requirements is costly, time consuming, uncertain and subject to unanticipated delays. In addition, in many countries outside the United States and in particular in many of the member states of the European Union, a product must undergo health economic assessments to agree on pricing and/or be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that country, or before it becomes commercially viable. The FDA and the EMA may come to different conclusions regarding approval of a marketing application. Approval by the FDA or EMA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions, and approval by one foreign regulatory authority does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA or EMA. In addition, our failure to obtain regulatory approval in any country may delay or have negative effects on the process for regulatory approval in other countries. Clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries. We may not obtain regulatory approvals on a timely basis, if at all. We may not be able to submit applications for regulatory approvals and may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our products in any market. We may be required to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, which would be costly and time consuming. If we or any future partner are unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates in one or more significant jurisdictions, then the commercial opportunity for our product candidates, and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, may be materially adversely affected.

The regulatory landscape that will govern our product candidates is uncertain. Regulations relating to more established gene therapy and cell therapy products are still developing, and changes in regulatory requirements could result in delays or discontinuation of development of our product candidates or unexpected costs in obtaining regulatory approval.

The regulatory requirements to which our product candidates will be subject are not entirely clear. Even with respect to more established products that fit into the categories of gene therapies or cell therapies, the regulatory landscape is still developing. For example, regulatory requirements governing gene therapy products and cell therapy products have changed frequently and may continue to change in the future. Moreover, there is substantial, and sometimes uncoordinated, overlap in those responsible for regulation of existing gene therapy products and cell therapy products. Although the FDA decides whether individual gene therapy protocols may proceed, the review process and determinations of other reviewing bodies can impede or delay the initiation of a clinical study, even if the FDA has reviewed the study and authorizes its initiation. Conversely, the FDA can place an Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, on clinical hold even if such other entities have provided a favorable review. Furthermore, gene therapy clinical trials may also require evaluation and assessment by an institutional biosafety committee, or IBC, a local institutional committee that reviews and oversees basic and clinical research conducted at the institution participating in the clinical trial. The IBC assesses the safety of the research and identifies any potential risk to the public health or the environment, and such assessment may result in some delay before initiation of a clinical trial. In addition, adverse developments in clinical trials of gene therapy products conducted by others may cause the FDA or other regulatory bodies to change the requirements for approval of any of our product candidates.

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Complex regulatory environments exist in other jurisdictions in which we might consider seeking regulatory approvals for our product candidates, further complicating the regulatory landscape. For example, in the European Union a special committee called the Committee for Advanced Therapies, or CAT, was established within the EMA in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1394/2007 on advanced-therapy medicinal products, or ATMPs, to assess the quality, safety and efficacy of ATMPs, and to follow scientific developments in the field. ATMPs include gene therapy products as well as somatic cell therapy products and tissue engineered products.

These various regulatory review committees and advisory groups and new or revised guidelines that they promulgate from time to time may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As the regulatory landscape for our product candidates is new, we may face even more cumbersome and complex regulations than those emerging for gene therapy products and cell therapy products. Furthermore, even if our product candidates obtain required regulatory approvals, such approvals may later be withdrawn as a result of changes in regulations or the interpretation of regulations by applicable regulatory agencies.

Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product sales revenue to maintain our business.

Even if we receive regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review, which may materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. We have not previously submitted a BLA, to the FDA, or similar regulatory approval filings to comparable foreign authorities, for any product candidate and never received regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. Even if the FDA, EMA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority approves any of our product candidates, the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, product sampling, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, marketing, promotion and recordkeeping for the product will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMPs and GCPs for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval, all of which may result in significant expense and limit our ability to commercialize such products. There also are continuing, annual program user fees for any marketed products. Biologic manufacturers and their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMP, which impose certain procedural and documentation requirements upon us and our third-party manufacturers. Changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated, and, depending on the significance of the change, may require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP and impose reporting requirements upon us and any third-party manufacturers that we may decide to use. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMP and other aspects of regulatory compliance.

Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product. For example, the FDA has the authority to require a REMS as part of a BLA or after approval, which may impose further requirements or restrictions on the distribution or use of an approved product, such as limiting prescribing to certain physicians or medical centers that have undergone specialized training, limiting treatment to patients who meet certain safe-use criteria and requiring treated patients to enroll in a registry. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements may result in, among other things:

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restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, withdrawal of the product from the market, or voluntary or mandatory;

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product recalls;

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fines, warning letters, untitled letters or holds on clinical trials;

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refusal by the FDA, EMA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications, or suspension or revocation of product approvals;

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requirements to conduct additional clinical trials, change our product labeling or submit additional applications or application supplements;

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product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products;

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mandated modification of promotional materials and labeling and the issuance of corrective information;

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consent decrees, corporate integrity agreements, debarment or exclusion from federal healthcare programs;

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the issuance of safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases and other communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product; or

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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

In addition, regulatory policies may change or additional government regulations or legislation may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. If we fail to comply with existing requirements, are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any regulatory approval that we may have obtained or face regulatory or enforcement actions, which may materially adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, if any of our product candidates is approved, our product labeling, advertising and promotion will be subject to regulatory requirements and continuing regulatory review. The FDA strictly regulates the promotional claims that may be made about prescription products. In particular, a product may not be promoted for uses that are not approved by the FDA as reflected in the product’s approved labeling. If we receive marketing approval for a product candidate, physicians may nevertheless prescribe it to their patients in a manner that is inconsistent with the approved label. If we are found to have promoted such off-label uses, we may become subject to significant liability. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant sanctions. The federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion and has enjoined several companies from engaging in off-label promotion. The FDA has also requested that companies enter into consent decrees or permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct is changed or curtailed.

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response, and could generate negative publicity. Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates.

Further, the policies of FDA, EMA and other comparable regulatory authorities may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or to adopt new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained, which would adversely affect our business, prospects and ability to achieve or sustain profitability.

We also cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative or executive action, either in the United States or abroad. For example, certain policies of the Trump administration may impact our business and industry. Namely, the Trump administration has taken several executive actions, including the issuance of a number of Executive Orders, that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, FDA’s ability to engage in

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routine regulatory and oversight activities such as implementing statutes through rulemaking, issuance of guidance, and review and approval of marketing applications. It is difficult to predict how these Executive Orders will be implemented, and the extent to which they will impact the FDA’s ability to exercise its regulatory authority. If these executive actions impose constraints on FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively impacted.

A breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for a product candidate may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and it would not increase the likelihood that the product candidate will receive marketing approval.

We may in the future seek a breakthrough therapy designation for one or more product candidates. A breakthrough therapy is defined as a product candidate that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product candidate may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. For product candidates that have been designated as breakthrough therapies, interaction and communication between the FDA and the sponsor of the trial can help to identify the most efficient path for clinical development while minimizing the number of patients placed in ineffective control regimens. Product candidates designated as breakthrough therapies by the FDA are also eligible for priority review if supported by clinical data at the time of the submission of the BLA.

Designation as a breakthrough therapy is within the discretion of the FDA. Accordingly, even if we believe that one of our product candidates meets the criteria for designation as a breakthrough therapy, the FDA may disagree and instead determine not to make such designation. In any event, the receipt of a breakthrough therapy designation for a product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to product candidates considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and it would not assure ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, even if one or more of our product candidates qualify as breakthrough therapies, the FDA may later decide that the product candidate no longer meets the conditions for qualification or it may decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened.

Because we are developing product candidates for the treatment or prevention of diseases in which there is little clinical experience using new technologies, there is increased risk that the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities may not consider the endpoints of our clinical trials to provide clinically meaningful results and that these results may be difficult to analyze.

As we are developing novel treatments and preventative measures for diseases in which we believe there is limited clinical experience with new endpoints and methodologies, there is heightened risk that the FDA, EMA or comparable foreign regulatory bodies may not consider the clinical trial endpoints to provide clinically meaningful results, and the resulting clinical data and results may be more difficult to analyze. It is difficult to determine how long it will take or how much it will cost to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates in the United States, the European Union or other jurisdictions, if ever. Further, approvals by one regulatory agency may not be indicative of what other regulatory agencies may require for approval.

During the regulatory review process, we will need to identify success criteria and endpoints such that the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities will be able to determine the clinical efficacy and safety profile of any product candidates we may develop. Because our initial focus is to identify and develop product candidates to treat or prevent diseases in which there is little clinical experience using new technologies, there is heightened risk that the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities may not consider the clinical trial endpoints that we propose to provide clinically meaningful results. In addition, the resulting clinical data and results may be difficult to analyze. Even if the FDA determines that our success criteria is sufficiently validated and clinically meaningful, we may not achieve the pre-specified endpoints to a sufficient degree of statistical significance.

This may be a particularly significant risk for many of the genetically defined diseases for which we plan to develop product candidates because many of these diseases have small patient populations, and designing and executing a rigorous clinical trial with appropriate statistical power is more difficult than with

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diseases that have larger patient populations. Further, even if we do achieve the pre-specified criteria, the results may be unpredictable or inconsistent with the results of the non-primary endpoints or other relevant data. The FDA also weighs the benefits of a product against its risks, and the FDA may view the efficacy results in the context of safety as not being supportive of regulatory approval. The EMA and other regulatory authorities may make similar comments with respect to these endpoints and data. Any product candidate we may develop will be based on a novel technology that makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of development and of subsequently obtaining regulatory approval.

We and our collaboration partners have conducted and intend to conduct additional clinical trials for selected product candidates at sites outside the United States, and the FDA may not accept data from trials conducted in such locations or may require additional U.S.-based trials.

We and our collaboration partners have conducted, currently are conducting and intend in the future to conduct, clinical trials outside the United States, particularly in the European Union where we are headquartered.

Although the FDA may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States, acceptance of this data is subject to certain conditions imposed by the FDA. For example, the clinical trial must be conducted by qualified investigators in accordance with GCPs, and the FDA must be able to validate the trial data through an on-site inspection, if necessary. Generally, the patient population for any clinical trial conducted outside of the United States must be representative of the population for which we intend to seek approval in the United States. There can be no assurance that the FDA will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States. If the FDA does not accept the data from any clinical trials that we or our collaboration partners conduct outside the United States, it would likely result in the need for additional clinical trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay or permanently halt our ability to develop and market these or other product candidates in the United States. In other jurisdictions, for instance, in Japan, there is a similar risk regarding the acceptability of clinical trial data conducted outside of that jurisdiction.

In addition, there are risks inherent in conducting clinical trials in multiple jurisdictions, inside and outside of the United States, such as:

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regulatory and administrative requirements of the jurisdiction where the trial is conducted that could burden or limit our ability to conduct our clinical trials;

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foreign exchange fluctuations;

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manufacturing, customs, shipment and storage requirements;

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cultural differences in medical practice and clinical research; and

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the risk that the patient populations in such trials are not considered representative as compared to the patient population in the target markets where approval is being sought.

If any of our product candidates receive regulatory approval, the approved products may not achieve broad market acceptance among physicians, patients, the medical community and third-party payors, in which case revenue generated from their sales would be limited.

The commercial success of our product candidates will depend upon their acceptance among physicians, patients and the medical community. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including:

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limitations or warnings contained in the approved labeling for a product candidate;

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changes in the standard of care for the targeted indications for any of our product candidates;

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limitations in the approved clinical indications for our product candidates;

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demonstrated clinical safety and efficacy compared to other products;

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lack of significant adverse side effects;

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sales, marketing and distribution support;

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availability of coverage and extent of reimbursement from managed care plans and other third-party payors;

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timing of market introduction and perceived effectiveness of competitive products;

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the degree of cost-effectiveness of our product candidates;

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availability of alternative therapies at similar or lower cost, including generic and over-the-counter products;

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whether the product is designated under physician treatment guidelines as a first-line therapy or as a second or third-line therapy for particular diseases;

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whether the product can be used effectively with other therapies to achieve higher response rates;

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adverse publicity about our product candidates or favorable publicity about competitive products;

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convenience and ease of administration of our products; and

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potential product liability claims.

If any of our product candidates are approved, but do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients and the medical community, we may not generate sufficient revenue from these products, and we may not become or remain profitable. In addition, efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources and may never be successful.

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, or Brexit, could result in increased regulatory and legal complexity, and impose additional challenges in securing regulatory approval of our product candidates in the European Union and the rest of Europe.

The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union effective as of January 31, 2020, and is now in a period of transition until the end of 2020. The transition period maintains all existing trading arrangements. During the transition period, the United Kingdom and the European Union will negotiate future trading arrangements. Until a final agreement has been reached, an exit without a trade agreement in place, which would result in the United Kingdom losing access to free trade agreements for goods and services with the European Union and other countries, continues to be a risk. An exit by the United Kingdom from the European Union without an agreement in place would likely lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent laws and regulations between the United Kingdom and the European Union. We cannot predict whether or not the United Kingdom will significantly alter its current laws and regulations in respect of the pharmaceutical industry and, if so, what impact any such alteration would have on us or our business. Moreover, we cannot predict the impact that Brexit will have on (i) the marketing of pharmaceutical products, (ii) the process to obtain regulatory approval in the United Kingdom for product candidates or (iii) the award of exclusivities that are normally part of the European Union legal framework.

Brexit may also result in a reduction of funding to the EMA if the United Kingdom no longer makes financial contributions to European institutions, such as the EMA. If the United Kingdom funding is so reduced, it could create delays in the EMA issuing regulatory approvals for our products and product candidates and, accordingly, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and future growth prospects.

As a result of Brexit, other European countries may seek to conduct referenda with respect to their continuing membership with the European Union. Given these possibilities and others we may not anticipate, as well as the absence of comparable precedent, it is unclear what financial, regulatory and legal implications the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union would have and how such withdrawal would affect us, and the full extent to which our business could be adversely affected.

In addition, following the Brexit vote, the European Union decided to move the headquarters of the EMA from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. The EMA is currently finishing its relocation process to the Netherlands. However, as a result of the move, the EMA has lost a significant percentage of

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its employees and was not able to hire at least the same amount of employees that left the EMA upon the movement of its headquarters from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. This raises the possibility that new drug approvals in the European Union could be delayed as a result of such employee shortage.

Our product candidates for which we may seek approval as biologic products may face competition sooner than anticipated.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively, the Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010, includes a subtitle called the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCIA, which created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that are biosimilar to or interchangeable with an FDA-licensed reference biological product. Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product may not be submitted to the FDA until four years following the date that the reference product was first licensed by the FDA. In addition, the approval of a biosimilar product may not be made effective by the FDA until 12 years from the date on which the reference product was first licensed. During this 12-year period of exclusivity, another company may still market a competing version of the reference product if the FDA approves a full BLA for the competing product containing the sponsor’s own preclinical data and data from adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity and potency of their product.

To the extent any of our product candidates approved as a biological product under a BLA qualifies for a 12-year period of exclusivity, for which we make no assurances, there is a risk that such exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action or otherwise, or that the FDA will not consider our product candidates to be reference products for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for generic competition sooner than anticipated. Other aspects of the BPCIA, some of which may impact the BPCIA exclusivity provisions, have also been the subject of recent litigation. Moreover, the extent to which a biosimilar, once approved, will be substituted for any one of our reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biological products is not yet clear, and will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing.

If any approved products are subject to biosimilar competition sooner than we expect, we will face significant pricing pressure and our commercial opportunity will be limited.

Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies caused by funding shortages or global health concerns could hinder their ability to hire, retain or deploy key leadership and other personnel, or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, or approved or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.

The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, statutory, regulatory, and policy changes, the FDA’s ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees, and other events that may otherwise affect the FDA’s ability to perform routine functions. Average review times at the FDA have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of other government agencies that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies may also slow the time necessary for our product candidates to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, including for 35 days beginning on December 22, 2018, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, have had to furlough critical FDA employees and stop critical activities.

Separately, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, on March 10, 2020 the FDA announced its intention to postpone most foreign inspections of manufacturing facilities and products and subsequently, on March 18, 2020, the FDA announced its intention to temporarily postpone routine surveillance inspections of domestic manufacturing facilities. Regulatory authorities outside the United States may adopt similar restrictions or other policy measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if global health concerns continue to prevent the FDA or other regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA or other regulatory authorities to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Risks Related to the Manufacturing of Our Product Candidates

The manufacture of mRNA-based medicines is complex and manufacturers often encounter difficulties in production, especially in the field of biologics. If we or any of our third-party manufacturers encounter difficulties, our ability to provide product candidates for clinical trials or products, if approved, to patients or future customers could be delayed or halted.

The manufacture of mRNA-based medicines is complex and requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and analytics. We and our third-party manufacturers must comply with cGMP, regulations and guidelines for the manufacturing of our product candidates used in preclinical studies and clinical trials and, if approved, marketed products. Manufacturers of biotechnology products often encounter difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up and validating initial production. Furthermore, if microbial, viral or other contaminations are discovered in our product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities where our product candidates are made, such manufacturing facilities may be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination. Shortages of raw materials may also extend the period of time required to develop our product candidates.

Manufacturing these products requires facilities specifically designed for and validated for this purpose and sophisticated quality assurance and quality control procedures are necessary. Slight deviations anywhere in the manufacturing process, including filling, labeling, packaging, storage and shipping and quality control and testing, may result in lot failures, product recalls or spoilage. When changes are made to the manufacturing process, we may be required to provide preclinical and clinical data showing the comparable identity, strength, quality, purity or potency of the products before and after such changes. The use of biologically derived ingredients can also lead to allegations of harm, including infections or allergic reactions, or closure of product facilities due to possible contamination.

In addition, there are risks associated with large scale manufacturing for clinical trials or commercial scale including, among others, cost overruns, potential problems with process scale-up, process reproducibility, stability issues, compliance with good manufacturing practices, lot consistency and timely availability of raw materials. Even if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, there is no assurance that we or our manufacturers will be able to manufacture the approved product to specifications acceptable to the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to produce it in sufficient quantities to meet the requirements for the potential commercial launch of the product or to meet potential future demand. If we or our manufacturers are unable to produce sufficient quantities for clinical trials or for commercialization, our development and commercialization efforts would be impaired, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

We cannot assure you that any disruptions or other issues relating to the manufacture of any of our product candidates will not occur in the future. Any delay or interruption in the supply of clinical trial supplies could delay the completion of planned clinical trials, increase the costs associated with maintaining clinical trial programs and, depending upon the period of delay, require us to commence new clinical trials at additional expense or terminate clinical trials completely. Any adverse developments affecting clinical or commercial manufacturing of our product candidates or products may result in shipment delays, inventory shortages, lot failures, product withdrawals or recalls or other interruptions in the supply of our product candidates or products. We may also have to take inventory write-offs and incur other charges and expenses for product candidates or products that fail to meet specifications, undertake costly remediation efforts or seek more costly manufacturing alternatives. Accordingly, failures or difficulties faced at any level of our supply chain could delay or impede the development and commercialization of any of our product candidates or products and could have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

We and our third-party manufacturers and suppliers could be subject to liabilities, fines, penalties or other sanctions under federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations if we or they fail to comply with such laws or regulations or otherwise incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We manufacture and produce mRNA-based active ingredients for our product pipeline. We also currently rely on and expect to continue to rely on third parties for the manufacturing and supply of active

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pharmaceutical ingredients, or API, and drug products of our product candidates. We and these third parties are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the generation, handling, labeling, transportation, use, manufacture, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes and worker health and safety. We do not have control over a manufacturer’s or supplier’s compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Liabilities they incur pursuant to these laws and regulations could result in significant costs or in certain circumstances, an interruption in operations, any of which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

With respect to any hazardous materials or waste which we are currently, or in the future will be, generating, handling, transporting, using, manufacturing, storing, treating or disposing of, we cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials or waste, including at third-party disposal sites. In the event of such contamination or injury, we could be held liable for any resulting damages and liability. We also could be subject to significant civil or criminal fines and penalties, cessation of operations, investigation or remedial costs or other sanctions for failure to comply with applicable environmental, health and safety laws. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business.

Undetected errors or defects in our production could harm our reputation or expose us to product liability claims.

Defects in the cGMP materials we produce may damage the third parties’ businesses we work with and could harm their and our reputation. If that occurs, we may incur significant costs, the attention of our key personnel could be diverted, or other significant problems may arise. We may also be subject to warranty and liability claims for damages related to errors or defects in products made with our cGMP materials. In addition, if we do not meet industry or quality standards, if applicable, such products may be subject to recall. A material liability claim, recall or other occurrence that harms our reputation or decreases market acceptance of such products could harm our business and operating results.

Risks Related to Our Reliance on Collaborators and Other Third Parties

We rely on third parties to conduct our nonclinical and clinical trials and perform other tasks for us. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines, or comply with regulatory requirements, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed.

We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third-party CROs to monitor and manage data for our ongoing nonclinical and clinical programs. We rely on these parties for execution of our nonclinical and clinical studies and control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and our CROs and other vendors are required to comply with cGMP, GCP, Good Laboratory Practice, or GLP, and other regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Union and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in nonclinical and clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these regulations through periodic inspections of study sponsors, principal investigators, trial sites and other contractors. If we or any of our CROs or vendors fail to comply with applicable regulations, the data generated in our nonclinical and clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the EMA, FDA, or other regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional nonclinical and clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. In addition, even if, for example, the EMA finds our data generated in our nonclinical and clinical trials reliable for approving a marketing application, there is no assurance that other regulatory authorities like the FDA will find such data reliable and sufficient for approving a similar market application. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that all of our clinical trials comply with cGCP regulations. In addition,

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our clinical trials must be conducted with product produced under cGMP regulations. Our failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

If any of our relationships with these third-party CROs terminates, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or do so on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, our CROs are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such CROs, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our on-going nonclinical and clinical programs. If CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, meet expected deadlines, conduct our studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated study plans and protocols, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols, regulatory requirements, or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed, or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our product candidates. CROs may also generate higher costs than anticipated. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase, and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.

Switching or adding additional CROs involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter similar challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.

If we or any third-party manufacturer of our product candidates is unable to increase the scale of production of our product candidates, and/or increase the product yield of manufacturing, then our costs to manufacture the product may increase and commercialization may be delayed.

In order to produce sufficient quantities to meet the demand for clinical trials and, if approved, subsequent commercialization of our product candidates in our pipeline or that we may develop, our third-party manufacturers will be required to increase their production and optimize their manufacturing processes while maintaining the quality of the product. The transition to larger scale and more robust production could prove difficult or costly. Further, any claims in our manufacturing process as a result of scaling up or optimization of the manufacturing, supply and fill and finish process may result in the need to obtain regulatory approvals. If we or our third-party manufacturers are not able to optimize manufacturing process to increase the product yield for our product candidates or cGMP production requirement for clinical studies, or are unable to produce increased amounts of our product candidates while maintaining the quality of the product or generally unable to produce the right quality, then we may not be able to meet the demands of clinical trials or market demands, which could decrease our ability to generate profits. Difficulty in achieving commercial scale-up production or production optimization or the need for additional regulatory approvals as a result could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property Rights

If we are unable to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection for our products or product candidates, or if the scope of our intellectual property protection is not sufficiently broad, our ability to commercialize our product candidates successfully and to compete effectively may be materially adversely affected.

Our success depends on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our current and future proprietary product candidates. We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our technology, manufacturing processes, products and product candidates. We and our collaborators have primarily sought to protect our proprietary positions by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our proprietary technology,

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manufacturing processes, and product candidates that are important to our business. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may be able to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary.

The patent prosecution process is expensive and time consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner or in all jurisdictions where protection may be commercially advantageous. It is also possible that we may fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. In addition, we or our collaborators, may only pursue, obtain or maintain patent protection in a limited number of countries. There is no assurance that all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found. We may be unaware of prior art that could be used to invalidate or narrow the scope of an issued patent or prevent our pending patent applications from issuing as patents. Because patent applications in the United States, Europe and many other non-U.S. jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all, and because publications of discoveries in scientific literature lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed in any of our owned or any in-licensed issued patents or pending patent applications, or that we or our licensors were the first to file for protection of the inventions set forth in our patents or patent applications. As a result, we may not be able to obtain or maintain protection for certain inventions. Even if patents do successfully issue, our owned or in-licensed patents may not adequately protect our intellectual property, provide exclusivity for our products or product candidates, prevent others from designing around our claims or otherwise provide us with a competitive advantage. We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue, the breadth of any such patents or whether any issued patents will be found invalid or unenforceable or will be threatened by third parties. In addition, third parties may challenge the validity, enforceability, ownership, inventorship or scope of any of our patents. Any successful challenge to any of our patents could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any product candidate that we may develop and could impair or eliminate our ability to collect future revenues and royalties with respect to such products or product candidates. If any of our patent applications with respect to our product candidates fail to issue as patents, if their breadth or strength of protection is narrowed or threatened, or if they fail to provide meaningful exclusivity or competitive position, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us or otherwise adversely affect our competitive position.

The patent position of pharmaceutical companies is generally uncertain because it involves complex legal, scientific and factual considerations for which legal principles remain unsolved. The standards applied by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, and foreign patent offices in granting patents are not always applied uniformly or predictably, and can change. Additionally, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending such rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property rights, particularly those relating to biotechnology, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement, misappropriation, or other violation of our patents or other intellectual property, including the unauthorized reproduction of our manufacturing or other know-how or the marketing of competing products in violation of our intellectual property rights generally. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Further, the existence of issued patents does not guarantee our right to practice the patented technology or commercialize the patented product candidate. Third parties may have or obtain rights to patents which they may use to prevent or attempt to prevent us from practicing our patented technology or commercializing any of our patented product candidates. If any of these other parties are successful in obtaining valid and enforceable patents, and establishing our infringement of those patents, we could be prevented from selling our products unless we were able to obtain a license under such third-party patents, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In addition, third parties may seek approval to market their own products similar to or otherwise competitive with our products. In these circumstances, we may need to defend or assert our patents, including by filing lawsuits alleging patent infringement. In any of these types of proceedings, a court or agency of competent jurisdiction may find

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our patents invalid or unenforceable. Our competitors and other third parties may also be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative product candidates in a non-infringing manner. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

In addition, competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained or are unable to adequately enforce patent protection to develop their own products and further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States and Europe. These products may compete with our products, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing with us. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or held unenforceable, or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop, acquire or license.

Our owned and in-licensed patents may be subject to a reservation of rights by one or more third parties. For example, the research resulting in certain of our patents and technology, including patents and technology relating to our yellow fever product candidate, was funded in part by the U.S. government. As a result, the U.S. government has certain rights to such patent rights and technology, which include march-in rights. When new technologies are developed with government funding, in order to secure ownership of such patent rights, the recipient of such funding is required to comply with certain government regulations, including timely disclosing the inventions claimed in such patent rights to the U.S. government and timely electing title to such inventions. Additionally, the U.S. government generally obtains certain rights in any resulting patents, including a non-exclusive license authorizing the government to use the invention or to have others use the invention on its behalf. Accordingly, we have granted the U.S. government a non-exclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice or have practiced for or on behalf of the United States, the inventions described in the patents and patent applications relating to our technology or one or more of our product candidates. If the U.S. government decides to exercise these rights, it is not required to engage us as its contractor in connection with doing so. The government’s rights may also permit it to disclose our confidential information to third parties and to exercise march-in rights to use or allow third parties to use such government-funded technology. The government can exercise its march-in rights if it determines that action is necessary because we fail to achieve practical application of the government-funded technology, or because action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs, to meet requirements of federal regulations, or to give preference to U.S. industry. In addition, our rights in such inventions may be subject to certain requirements to manufacture products embodying such inventions in the United States. If we fail to comply with those requirements, we could lose our ownership of or other rights to any patents subject to such regulations. Any exercise by the government of any of the foregoing rights or by any third party of its reserved rights could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

In Germany, the German federal government, and the Federal Ministry of Health and downstream authorities in the event of a national epidemic, have the right to order the use of our owned and in-licensed patents in the interest of the public welfare or the security of the Federal Republic. The German government may issue such an order with respect to our owned or in-licensed patents and we may lose exclusivity with respect to the technologies and product candidates covered by such patents. For example, if the German government determines that we are unable to develop our SARS-CoV-2 vaccine on a timeline or at a scale that is necessary to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may issue a use order for the patents covering our development of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. We would be entitled to compensation in the event a use order is issued with respect to our owned or in-licensed patents; however, such compensation may be less than what we could otherwise receive and any such use order could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Additionally, the research resulting in certain of our patents and technology, including patents and technology relating to our CV8102 and RSV product candidates, was funded in part by the German

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Ministry of Education and Research, or the BMBF. Results of such government funded research projects must, subject to certain conditions, be made available free of charge for academic research and teaching in Germany and must be published in half-yearly interim reports and a final report following completion of the funded work. Information relating to intellectual property generated, commercial expectations, scientific chances of success and next steps and certain additional information must be disclosed to the German government and must be disclosed to third parties for academic research and teaching upon request under a written confidentiality agreement. The BMBF additionally has, in the case of a special public interest, a non-exclusive and transferable right to use intellectual property generated as part of the funded work. Contracts with third parties relating the exploitation of the results of the funded work must be disclosed to the BMBF and any such contracts with parties outside of the European Union require the prior consent of the BMBF to the extent they deviate from an exploitation plan previously approved by the BMBF. Additionally, if we fail to use or commercialize the results of the funded work we may be required to grant third parties licenses to use such results. In certain scenarios, including if we come under the decisive influence of foreign investors, the funded results are exclusively or predominantly used outside of Germany without the prior consent of the BMBF or if we are in breach of our obligations under the grant, the grant funding, including funding already received, can be revoked.

Furthermore, certain of our patents and technology, including patents and technology relating to our rotavirus, malaria, Lassa virus and SARS-CoV-2 product candidates, were funded in part by grants from nonprofit third parties, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CEPI. We are required to fulfill certain contractual obligations with respect to products created using such grant funding, including making certain products available at an affordable price in a list of clearly defined low and lower-middle income countries and ensuring that certain products are available in geographic regions where there has been an outbreak of an infectious disease at certain reduced economic rates. See “Business — Collaborations.”

Furthermore, patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after its effective filing date. Various extensions may be available, however, the life of a patent and the protection it affords is limited. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing, regulatory review and approval of new product candidates, our patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. If we encounter delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market a product under patent protection could be further reduced. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once such patents expire, we may be vulnerable to competition from similar or biosimilar products. The launch of a similar or biosimilar version of one of our products would likely result in an immediate and substantial reduction in the demand for our product, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under any license, collaboration or other intellectual property agreements, disagree over contract interpretation, or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our collaborators or licensors, we could lose intellectual property rights that are necessary to our business.

We rely, in part, on license, collaboration and other intellectual property agreements. These may not provide exclusive rights to use such intellectual property and technology in all relevant fields of use and in all territories in which we may wish to develop or commercialize our product candidates in the future.

In addition, our existing licenses and collaboration agreements, including our agreements with Genmab, Arcturus, Acuitas, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CRISPR Therapeutics and CEPI, impose, and any future licenses, collaborations or other intellectual property agreements we enter into are likely to impose, various development, commercialization, funding, milestone, royalty, diligence, sublicensing, insurance, patent prosecution and enforcement or other obligations on us. Our licenses and collaboration agreements, including our agreement with Genmab, impose, and any future agreement we enter into may also impose, restrictions on our ability to license certain of our intellectual property to third parties or to develop or commercialize certain product candidates or technologies. In spite of our best efforts, our licensors, licensees and collaborators may conclude that we have breached our obligations under our agreements, or that we have used the intellectual property licensed to us in an unauthorized manner, in which case, we may be required to pay damages and the licensor, licensee or

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collaborator may have the right to terminate the agreement. Any of the foregoing could result in us being unable to develop, manufacture and sell products that are covered by the licensed technology, enable a competitor to gain access to the licensed technology or disrupt our right to milestone or royalty payments. We might not have the necessary rights or the financial resources to develop, manufacture or market our current or future product candidates without the rights granted under our licenses, and the loss of sales or potential sales in such product candidates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to licensing, collaboration or other intellectual property agreements, including:

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the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation related issues;

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the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the license agreement;

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the sublicensing of patent and other rights under our collaborative development relationships;

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our diligence obligations under the license agreement and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;

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our financial obligations under the license agreement;

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the inventorship and ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our partners; and

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the priority of invention of patented technology.

In addition, the agreements under which we currently license intellectual property or technology to or from third parties are complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Moreover, if disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.

In some circumstances, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, and defense of patents and patent applications covering the technology that we license from third parties. We cannot be certain that these patents and applications will be prepared, filed, prosecuted, maintained, enforced, and defended in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If our licensors fail to prosecute, maintain, enforce, and defend such intellectual property, or lose rights to such intellectual property, the rights we have licensed and our exclusivity may be reduced or eliminated and our right to develop and commercialize any of our products that are subject to such licensed rights could be adversely affected.

Moreover, our rights to our in-licensed patents and patent applications may depend, in part, on inter-institutional or other operating agreements between the joint owners of such in-licensed patents and patent applications. If one or more of such joint owners breaches such inter-institutional or operating agreements, our rights to such in-licensed patents and patent applications may be adversely affected. In addition, while we cannot currently determine the amount of the royalty obligations we would be required to pay on sales of future products, if any, the amounts may be significant. The amount of our future royalty obligations will depend on the technology and intellectual property we use in products that we successfully develop and commercialize, if any. Therefore, even if we successfully develop and commercialize products, we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability. In addition, the development of certain of our product candidates is funded by grants that impose certain pricing limitations on such product candidates and limit our ability to commercialize such product candidates and to achieve or maintain profitability. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

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If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have on reasonable terms or at all, we may have to abandon development of the relevant program or product candidate and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could suffer.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful and could result in a court or administrative body finding our patents to be invalid or unenforceable.

Even if the patent applications we own or license are issued, third parties may infringe our patents. To counter infringement, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. If we initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering any of our product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including novelty, non-obviousness (or inventive step), written description or enablement. In addition, patent validity challenges may, under certain circumstances, be based upon non-statutory obviousness-type double patenting, which, if successful, could result in a finding that the claims are invalid for obviousness-type double patenting or the loss of patent term if a terminal disclaimer is filed to obviate a finding of obviousness-type double patenting. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld information material to patentability from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. In an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that one or more of our patents is not valid, is unenforceable or is not infringed, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. Third parties also may raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in the revocation or cancellation of or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our product candidates or provide any competitive advantage. For example, one of our manufacturing related U.S. patents was invalidated in an inter partes review proceeding and certain of our European patents relating to RNA-based adjuvants/immunostimulants and RNA-coded antibodies have been revoked in European opposition proceedings. Some of these decisions are currently on appeal and continuation or divisional applications of certain of the revoked patents have been filed and are currently under examination, although there can be no assurance that any such appeal will be successful or that any such patent applications will issue as patents that provide us with any competitive advantage. Additionally, several of our European patents relating to RNA-based adjuvants/immunostimulants, mRNA formulation, mRNA-based vaccination of specific patient populations, combination of mRNA-based vaccination and inhibition of the PD-1 pathway, combination of mRNA-based vaccination and agonistic OX40 antibodies, methods for RNA analysis and intratumoral (m)RNA treatment are currently subject to opposition proceedings. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. If a third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we could lose part or all of the patent protection on one or more of our product candidates, which could result in our competitors and other third parties using our technology to compete with us. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business.

Interference proceedings, or other similar enforcement and revocation proceedings, provoked by third parties or brought by us may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Our defense of litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensors, infringement, misappropriation or other violation of our intellectual property rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States.

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An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against competitors, affect our ability to receive royalties or other licensing consideration from our licensees, and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making, using and selling similar or competitive products. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we are sued for infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating intellectual property rights of third parties, such litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent or delay us from developing or commercializing our product candidates.

Our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates without infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating the intellectual property and other proprietary rights of third parties.

There is a substantial amount of intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and we may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adversarial proceedings regarding intellectual property rights of third parties with respect to our product candidates, including interference and post-grant proceedings before the USPTO. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the composition, formulation, use or manufacture of our product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that we may or may not be aware of which may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may be accused of infringing. Additionally, pending patent applications that have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover our product candidates or the use of our product candidates. After issuance, the scope of patent claims remains subject to construction based on interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent’s prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. Accordingly, third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on intellectual property rights that exist now or arise in the future. The outcome of intellectual property litigation is subject to uncertainties that cannot be adequately quantified in advance. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have produced a significant number of patents, and it may not always be clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use or manufacture. The scope of protection afforded by a patent is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform. If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our product candidates, products or methods either do not infringe the patent claims of the relevant patent or that the patent claims at issue are invalid or unenforceable, and we may not be able to do this. Proving invalidity is difficult. For example, in the United States, proving invalidity requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption of validity enjoyed by issued patents. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel could be diverted in pursuing these proceedings, which could significantly harm our business and operating results. In addition, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. Some claimants may have substantially greater resources than we do and may be able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we could. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us, especially as we gain greater visibility and market exposure as a public company.

Third parties have, and may in the future have, U.S. and non-U.S. issued patents and pending patent applications relating to compounds, methods of manufacturing compounds or methods of use for the treatment of the disease indications for which we are developing our product candidates that may cover our product candidates. For example, we are aware of certain third-party U.S. and non-U.S. issued patents and patent applications, including those of our competitors, that relate to RNA-encoded antigens in LNPs and LNP-formulated RNA that may be construed to cover the LNP-formulated RNA technology used in our vaccines and protein and antibody therapies. We are also aware of certain third-party U.S. and non-U.S. patent applications, including those of our competitors, that relate to coronavirus vaccines and treatments

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and we expect such third parties to have filed additional patent applications, which have not yet been published and to file additional patent applications in the future.

In the event that any of these patent rights were asserted against us, we believe that we have defenses against any such action, including that such patents would not be infringed by our product candidates and/or that such patents are not valid. However, if any such patent rights were to be asserted against us and our defenses to such assertion were unsuccessful, unless we obtain a license to such patents, we could be liable for damages, which could be significant and include treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to willfully infringe such patents, and we could be precluded from commercializing any product candidates that were ultimately held to infringe such patents, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If we are required to obtain a license from any third party in order to use the infringing technology and continue developing, manufacturing or marketing the infringing product candidate, we may not be able to obtain such required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In particular, any of our competitors that control intellectual property that we are found to infringe may be unwilling to provide us a license under any terms. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us; alternatively or additionally it could include terms that impede or destroy our ability to compete successfully in the commercial marketplace. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. Further, if a patent infringement suit is brought against us or our third-party service providers and if we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third-party intellectual property, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to redesign our product candidates, or to develop or license replacement technology, all of which may not be feasible on a technical or commercial basis, and may delay or require us to abandon our development, manufacturing or sales activities relating to our product candidates. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Intellectual property litigation and other proceedings could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.

Even if resolved in our favor, intellectual property litigation or other legal proceedings relating to our, our licensor’s or other third parties’ intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities. Patent litigation and other proceedings may also absorb significant management time. If not resolved in our favor, litigation may require us to pay any portion of our opponents’ legal fees. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing, or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct such litigation or proceedings adequately. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to sustain the cost of such litigation and proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater resources. Uncertainties resulting from our participation in patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in certain jurisdictions in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, the perceived value of our product candidates or intellectual property could be diminished. Accordingly, the market price of our common shares may decline. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Changes to the patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, thereby impairing our ability to protect our technologies and product candidates.

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical

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industry involves both technological and legal complexity and is therefore costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of issued patents. For example, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the America Invents Act, was signed into law on September 16, 2011, and many of the substantive changes became effective on March 16, 2013. The America Invents Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Specifically, the America Invents Act reforms United States patent law in part by changing the U.S. patent system from a “first to invent” system to a “first inventor to file” system. Under a “first inventor to file” system, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application generally will be entitled to the patent on an invention regardless of whether another inventor was the first to invent the invention. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application and be diligent in filing patent applications. Circumstances may arise that could prevent us from promptly filing patent applications on our inventions and allow third parties to file patents claiming our inventions before we are able to do so. The America Invents Act also includes a number of significant changes that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. These include allowing third-party submission of prior art to the USPTO during patent prosecution and additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent by the USPTO administered post grant proceedings, including reexamination proceedings, inter partes review, post grant review and derivation proceedings. These adversarial proceedings at the USPTO review patent claims without the presumption of validity afforded to U.S. patents in lawsuits in U.S. federal courts, and use a lower burden of proof than used in litigation in U.S. federal courts. Therefore, it is generally considered easier for a competitor or third party to have a U.S. patent invalidated in a USPTO post-grant review or inter partes review proceeding than in a litigation in a U.S. federal court. One of our manufacturing related patents has been invalidated in an inter partes proceeding and if any of our other patents are challenged by a third party in a USPTO proceeding, there is no guarantee that we or our licensors or collaborators will be successful in defending the patent, which would result in a loss or narrowing of the challenged patent right to us.

In addition, the patent positions of companies in the development and commercialization of biologics and pharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. This combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the validity and enforceability of patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways. In addition, the complexity and uncertainty of European patent laws have also increased in recent years. Complying with these laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our existing patent portfolio and our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property in the future.

We may be subject to claims by third parties asserting that our employees, consultants, independent contractors or we have misappropriated their intellectual property, or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property and proprietary technology.

Many of our current and former employees, consultants, and independent contractors including our senior management, were previously employed at universities or at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including some which may be competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants and independent contractors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees, consultants or independent contractors have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of such individual’s current or former employers, or that patents and applications we have filed to protect inventions of these individuals, even those related to one or more of our product candidates, are rightfully owned by their former or concurrent employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel or sustain damages. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to commercialize our technology or products. Such a license may not be available on an exclusive

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basis or on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

In addition, while we typically require our employees, consultants and independent contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual property that we regard as our own, or such agreements may be breached or alleged to be ineffective, and the assignment may not be self-executing, which may result in claims by or against us related to the ownership of such intellectual property or may results in such intellectual property becoming assigned to third parties. If we fail in enforcing or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. Even if we are successful in prosecuting or defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our senior management and scientific personnel. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection, including patents licensed from third parties, depends on compliance with various procedural, documentary, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for noncompliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other governmental fees on patents and patent applications will be due to be paid to the USPTO and various government patent agencies outside the United States over the lifetime of our patents and patent applications and any patent rights we may own or license in the future. Additionally, the USPTO and various government patent agencies outside the United States require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In certain cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with rules applicable to the particular jurisdiction. However, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering or otherwise protecting our product candidates, it could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, to the extent that we have responsibility for taking any action related to the prosecution or maintenance of patents or patent applications in-licensed from a third party, any failure on our part to maintain the in-licensed intellectual property could jeopardize our rights under the relevant license and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we do not obtain patent term extensions and data exclusivity for each of our product candidates, our business may be materially harmed.

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of any FDA marketing approval of any product candidates we may develop, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Action of 1984, or Hatch-Waxman Amendments. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent extension term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. A patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent may be extended and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it, or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. In the European Union, a maximum of five and a half years of supplementary protection can be achieved for an active ingredient or combinations of active ingredients of a medicinal product protected by a basic patent, if a valid marketing authorization exists (which must be the first authorization to place the product on the market as a medicinal product) and if the product has not already been the subject of supplementary protection. However, we may not receive an extension because of, for example, failing to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, failing to apply within applicable deadlines, failing to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents, or otherwise failing to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the length of the extension could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or if the term of any such extension is less than we request, our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially harmed.

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Certain of our employees and patents are subject to German law

A significant number of our personnel, work in Germany and are subject to German employment law. Inventions which may be the subject of a patent or of protection as a utility model as well as technical improvement proposals for other technical innovations that may not be the subject of a patent or of protection as a utility model made by such employees are subject to the provisions of the German Act on Employees’ Inventions (Gesetz über Arbeitnehmererfindungen), which regulates the ownership of, and compensation for, inventions made by employees. We face the risk that disputes may occur between us and our current or former employees pertaining to the sufficiency of compensation paid by us, allocation of rights to inventions under this act, or alleged non-adherence to the provisions of this act, any of which may be costly to resolve and take up our management’s time and efforts whether we prevail or fail in such dispute. In addition, under the German Act on Employees’ Inventions, certain employees retain rights to patents they invented or co-invented and disclosed to us prior to October 1, 2009 if the employee inventions were not actively claimed by us after notification by the employee inventors. While we believe that all of our current and past German employee inventors have assigned to us their interest in inventions and patents they invented or co-invented, there can be no assurance that all such assignments are fully effective. Therefore, there can be no assurance that present or former employees do not hold rights to intellectual property used by us or that such employees will not demand the registration of intellectual property rights in their name or demand damages pursuant to the German Act on Employees’ Inventions or other applicable laws. Even if we lawfully own all inventions of our employee inventors who are subject to the German Act on Employees’ Inventions, we are required under German law to reasonably compensate such employees for the use of the inventions. If we are required to pay increased compensation or face other disputes under the German Act on Employees’ Inventions, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be adversely affected.

The German Act on Employees’ Inventions does not generally apply to managing directors, supervisory directors, freelancers or agents who are not employees under German labor law. Unless the German Act on Employees’ Inventions has been referred to in the respective services agreements, inventions and intellectual property rights created by such inventors must be assigned to us by contract. While we believe that all of our managing directors, supervisory directors, freelancers or agents which are not employees have assigned to us their interest in inventions and patents required for our course of business, there can be no assurance that all such assignments are fully effective. If any of our current or past employees, managing directors, supervisory directors, freelancers or agents obtain or retain ownership of any inventions or related intellectual property rights that we believe we own, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights and be required to obtain and maintain licenses from such persons to such inventions or intellectual property rights, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or may be non-exclusive. If we are unable to obtain and maintain a license to any such person’s interest in such inventions or intellectual property rights, we may need to cease the development, manufacture, and commercialization of one or more of our product candidates or the product candidates we may develop. In addition, any loss of exclusivity of our intellectual property rights could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technologies and products. Any of the foregoing events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information, the value of our technology and products could be materially adversely affected.

In addition to patent protection, we also rely on trade secrets and confidentiality agreements to protect other proprietary information that is not patentable or that we elect not to patent. To maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets and proprietary information, we enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, independent contractors, collaborators, CMOs, CROs and others upon the commencement of their relationships with us. These agreements require that all confidential information developed by the individual or entity or made known to the individual or entity by us during the course of the individual’s or entity’s relationship with us be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties. Our agreements with employees as well as our personnel policies also generally provide that any inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us shall be our exclusive property (to the extent not covered by the German Act on Employees’ Inventions) or that we may obtain full rights to such inventions at our election. However, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each

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party that may have or has had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes and cannot guarantee that individuals with whom we have these agreements will comply with their terms. We also face the risk that present or former employees could continue to hold rights to intellectual property used by us, may demand the registration of intellectual property rights in their name, and demand damages pursuant to the Patent Act. In addition, present or former employees may demand damages due to violation of obligations under the German Act on Employees’ Invention. In the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets or proprietary information, these agreements, even if obtained, may not provide meaningful protection, particularly for our trade secrets.

We may not have adequate remedies in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our proprietary information in the case of a breach of any such agreements and our trade secrets and other proprietary information could be disclosed to third parties, including our competitors. Many of our partners also collaborate with our competitors and other third parties. The disclosure of our trade secrets to our competitors, or more broadly, would impair our competitive position and may materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Costly and time consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position. The enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect proprietary information, technology and know-how. In addition, others may independently discover or develop substantially equivalent or superior proprietary information and techniques, and the existence of our own trade secrets affords no protection against such independent discovery.

We may not be successful in obtaining necessary intellectual property rights to product candidates for our development pipeline through acquisitions and in-licenses.

Although we intend to develop product candidates through our own internal research, we may need to obtain additional licenses from others to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates and it is possible that we may be unable to obtain additional licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. However, we may be unable to acquire or in-license intellectual property rights relating to, or necessary for, any product candidates from third parties on an exclusive basis or commercially reasonable terms or at all. In that event, we may be unable to develop or commercialize such product candidates. We may also be unable to identify product candidates that we believe are an appropriate strategic fit for our company and intellectual property relating to, or necessary for, such product candidates.

The in-licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property is a competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing strategies to in-license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive or necessary. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cash resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. Furthermore, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. In addition, we expect that competition for the in-licensing or acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights for product candidates that are attractive to us may increase in the future, which may mean fewer suitable opportunities for us as well as higher acquisition or licensing costs. We may be unable to in-license or acquire the third-party intellectual property rights for product candidates on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment. If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to suitable product candidates, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects for growth could suffer.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Third parties may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained or are unable to adequately enforce patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may

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compete with our products, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our intellectual property and proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

Many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors is forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.

Our trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names or may be forced to stop using these names or marks which we need for name recognition by potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. During trademark registration proceedings, we may receive rejections. Although we would be given an opportunity to respond to those rejections, we may be unable to overcome such rejections. In addition, in the USPTO and in comparable agencies in many foreign jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings. If we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, we may not be able to compete effectively and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats.

The degree of future protection afforded by our proprietary and intellectual property rights is uncertain because such rights offer only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep our competitive advantage. For example:

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others may be able to develop products that are similar to, or better than, our product candidates in a way that is not covered by the claims of the patents we license or may own currently or in the future;

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we, or our licensing partners or current or future collaborators, might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by issued patents or pending patent applications that we license or may own currently or in the future;

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we, or our licensing partners or current or future collaborators, might not have been the first to file patent applications for certain of our or their inventions;

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our pending owned or in-licensed patent applications may not lead to issued patents;

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we may choose not to file a patent for certain trade secrets or know-how, and a third party may subsequently file a patent covering such intellectual property;

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our competitors or other third parties might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;

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it is possible that there are prior public disclosures that could invalidate our or our licensors’ patents;

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the patents of third parties or pending or future applications of third parties, if issued, may have an adverse effect on our business;

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any patents that we obtain may not provide us with any competitive advantages or may ultimately be found not to be owned by us, invalid or unenforceable; or

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we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable.

Should any of these events occur, they could significantly harm our business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Our current and future relationships with third-party payors, health care professionals and customers in the United States and elsewhere may be subject, directly or indirectly, to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, false claims, physician payment transparency and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to significant penalties.

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors in the United States and elsewhere will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our current and future arrangements with health care professionals, third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the federal civil False Claims Act, that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we conduct clinical research, sell, market and distribute any products for which we obtain marketing approval. In addition, we may be subject to physician payment transparency laws and patient privacy regulation by the federal government and by the U.S. states and foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. The applicable federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include the following:

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the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward, or in return for, either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service, for which payment may be made under federal and state healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation. Further, several courts have interpreted the statute’s intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered business, the Anti-Kickback Statute has been violated;

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federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including, without limitation, the federal civil False Claims Act (that can be enforced through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions), and the civil monetary penalties law, which impose criminal and civil penalties against individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, including the Medicare and Medicaid programs, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. Moreover, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act;

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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which imposes criminal and civil liability for, among other things, executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters. Similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation;

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the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits, among other things, the adulteration or misbranding of drugs, biologics and medical devices;

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the U.S. Public Health Service Act, or PHSA, which prohibits, among other things, the introduction into interstate commerce of a biological product unless a biologics license is in effect for that product;

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the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, created under Section 6002 of the Affordable Care Act, and its implementing regulations, which requires specified manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, information related to payments or other “transfers of value” made to physicians, which is defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors, certain other health care providers beginning in 2022, and teaching hospitals and applicable manufacturers to report annually to CMS ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members by the 90th day of each calendar year. All such reported information is publicly available; and

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analogous state and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers; state and foreign laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers; and state and foreign laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures.

Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations may involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices, including our relationships with physicians and other healthcare providers, some of whom may recommend, purchase or prescribe our product candidate, if approved, may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations.

If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, including, without limitation, damages, fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of noncompliance with these laws and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. If any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found not to be in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from participation in government healthcare programs, which could also materially affect our business.

Even if we, or any future collaborators, are able to commercialize any product candidate that we, or they, develop, the successful commercialization of our product candidates will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities, private health insurers and other third-party payors provide coverage and adequate reimbursement levels and implement pricing policies favorable for our product candidates. Failure to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our product candidates, if approved, could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.

The healthcare industry is acutely focused on cost containment, both in the United States and elsewhere. Government authorities and third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting

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coverage and the amount of reimbursement. The insurance coverage and reimbursement status of newly approved products for orphan diseases is particularly uncertain and failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for our product candidates could limit our ability to generate revenue. Third-party payors may not view our product candidates, if approved, as cost-effective, and coverage and reimbursement may not be available to our customers or may not be sufficient to allow our products, if any, to be marketed on a competitive basis. If coverage and reimbursement are not available, or reimbursement is available only to limited levels, we, or any future collaborators, may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us, or any future collaborators, to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our or their investments. Cost-control initiatives could also cause us to decrease any price we might establish for our product candidates, which could result in lower than anticipated product revenues. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement does not imply that any product will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including our costs related to research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Reimbursement rates may vary, by way of example, according to the use of the product and the clinical setting in which it is used. For products administered under the supervision of a physician, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated with such drugs. If the prices for our product candidates, if approved, decrease or if governmental and other third-party payors do not provide adequate coverage or reimbursement, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition will suffer, perhaps materially.

There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products, including genetic treatments. In the United States, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare program, make the principal decisions about coverage and reimbursement for new treatments under Medicare. Private payors tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree. It is difficult to predict what CMS will decide with respect to reimbursement for novel products such as ours. In addition, certain Affordable Care Act marketplace and other private payor plans are required to include coverage for certain preventative services, including vaccinations recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s, or CDC’s, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, without cost share obligations (i.e., co-payments, deductibles or co-insurance) for plan members. For Medicare beneficiaries, vaccines may be covered for reimbursement under either the Part B program or Part D depending on several criteria, including the type of vaccine and the beneficiary’s coverage eligibility. If our vaccine candidates, once approved, are reimbursed only under the Part D program, physicians may be less willing to use our products because of the claims adjudication costs and time related to the claims adjudication process and collection of co-payment associated with the Part D program.

Outside the United States, certain countries, including a number of member states of the European Union, set prices and reimbursement for pharmaceutical products, with limited participation from the marketing authorization holders. We cannot be sure that such prices and reimbursement will be acceptable to us or our collaborators. If the regulatory authorities in these jurisdictions set prices or reimbursement levels that are not commercially attractive for us or our collaborators, our revenues from sales by us or our collaborators, and the potential profitability of our product candidates, in those countries would be negatively affected. Additionally, some countries require approval of the sale price of a product before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a product in a particular country, but then may experience delays in the reimbursement approval of our product or be subject to price regulations that would delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which could negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that particular country.

Moreover, an increasing number of countries are taking initiatives to attempt to reduce large budget deficits by focusing cost-cutting efforts on pharmaceuticals for their state-run health care systems. These international price control efforts have impacted all regions of the world, but have been most drastic in the European Union. In some countries, in particular in many member states of the European Union, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial or other studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of our product candidates to other available therapies in order to obtain or maintain reimbursement or pricing

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approval. In addition, publication of discounts by third-party payors or authorities may lead to further pressure on the prices or reimbursement levels within the country of publication and other countries.

If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected. Cost-control initiatives could cause us, or any future collaborators, to decrease the price we, or they, might establish for products, which could result in lower than anticipated product revenues. An inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for any of our product candidates for which we, or any future collaborator, obtain marketing approval could significantly harm our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.

Price controls may be imposed in certain markets, which may adversely affect our future profitability.

In some countries, particularly member states of the European Union, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to governmental control or control by associations of health insurers. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after receipt of marketing approval for a product. In addition, there can be considerable pressure by governments and other stakeholders on prices and reimbursement levels, including as part of cost containment measures. Political, economic and regulatory developments may further complicate pricing negotiations, and pricing negotiations may continue after reimbursement has been obtained. Reference pricing used by various countries and parallel distribution, or arbitrage between low-priced and high-priced countries, can further reduce prices. In some countries, in particular in many member states of the European Union, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial or other studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of our product candidates to other available therapies in order to obtain or maintain reimbursement or pricing approval. Publication of discounts by third-party payors or authorities may lead to further pressure on the prices or reimbursement levels within the country of publication and other countries. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected.

Exchange rate fluctuations or abandonment of the euro currency may materially affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Potential future expense and revenue may be incurred or derived from outside the European Union, particularly the United States. As a result, our business and share price may be affected by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates between the euro and other currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar, which may also have a significant impact on our reported results of operations and cash flows from period to period. In addition, the abandonment of the euro by one or more members of the European Union could lead to the re-introduction of individual currencies in one or more European Union member states, or in more extreme circumstances, the dissolution of the European Union. The effects on our business of the abandonment of the euro as a currency, the exit of one or more European Union member states from the European Union (such as Brexit) or a potential dissolution of the European Union, are impossible to predict with certainty, and any such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We could be subject to strict restrictions on the movement of cash and the exchange of foreign currencies.

In some countries, we could be subject to strict restrictions on the movement of cash and the exchange of foreign currencies, which would limit our ability to use this cash across our global operations. This risk could increase as we continue our geographic expansion, and in particular if we seek to expand into emerging markets, which are more likely to impose these restrictions than more established markets.

Current and future legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us and any collaborators to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates and affect the prices we, or they, may obtain.

In the United States and foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing

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approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. We expect that current laws, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, more rigorous coverage criteria, new payment methodologies and in additional downward pressure on the price that we, or any collaborators, may receive for any approved products.

In March 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Among the provisions of the Affordable Care Act of potential importance to our business and our product candidates are the following:

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an annual, non-deductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports specified branded prescription products and biologic products;

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an increase in the statutory minimum rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program;

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a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for products that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected;

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extension of manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability to individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations;

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expansion of the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program;

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a requirement that certain Affordable Care Act marketplace and other private payor plans include coverage for preventative services, including vaccinations recommended by the ACIP without cost share obligations (i.e., co-payments, deductibles or co-insurance) for plan members;

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a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research;

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a new Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, which has authority to recommend certain changes to the Medicare program to reduce expenditures by the program that could result in reduced payments for prescription products; and

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established the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation within CMS to test innovative payment and service delivery models.

Since its enactment, there have been judicial and congressional challenges to numerous aspects of the Affordable Care Act. By way of example, the 2017 Tax Reform Act included a provision repealing the individual mandate, effective January 1, 2019. On December 14, 2018, a U.S. District Court judge in the Northern District of Texas ruled that the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act is an essential and inseverable feature of the Affordable Care Act, and therefore because the mandate was repealed, the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act are invalid as well. On December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, but remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act are invalid as well. On March 2, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petitions for writs of certiorari to review the case, although it is unclear when a decision will be made or how the Supreme Court will rule. In addition, there may be other efforts to challenge, repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act. We are continuing to monitor any changes to the Affordable Care Act that, in turn, may potentially impact our business in the future.

Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011 and subsequent laws, which began in 2013 and will remain in effect through 2029, unless additional congressional action is taken. These reductions were suspended from May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, which was signed into law in March 2020. The CARES Act also extended the sequester by one year, through 2030. In addition, in January 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was

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signed into law, which, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. New laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, which may materially adversely affect customer demand and affordability for our product candidates, if approved, and, accordingly, the results of our financial operations.

Also, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny recently over the manner in which pharmaceutical companies set prices for their marketed products, which have resulted in several congressional inquiries and proposed federal legislation, as well as state efforts, designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. At the federal level, the Trump administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 includes a $135 billion allowance to support legislative proposals seeking to reduce drug prices, increase competition, lower out-of-pocket drug costs for patients, and increase patient access to lower-cost generic and biosimilar drugs. On March 10, 2020, the Trump administration sent “principles” for drug pricing to Congress, calling for legislation that would, among other things, cap Medicare Part D beneficiary out-of-pocket pharmacy expenses, provide an option to cap Medicare Part D beneficiary monthly out-of-pocket expenses, and place limits on pharmaceutical price increases. Further, the Trump administration previously released a “blueprint” to lower prescription drug prices and out-of-pocket costs that contained proposals to increase drug manufacturer competition, increase the negotiating power of certain federal healthcare programs, incentivize manufacturers to lower the list price of their products, and reduce the out-of-pocket costs of drug products paid by consumers. The Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, has solicited feedback on some of these measures and has implemented others under its existing authority. For example, in May 2019, CMS issued a final rule to allow Medicare Advantage plans the option to use step therapy for Part B drugs beginning January 1, 2020. This final rule codified CMS’s policy change that was effective January 1, 2019. While some of these and other measures may require additional authorization to become effective, Congress and the Trump administration have each indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs. At the state level, individual states in the United States have become increasingly active in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. These measures could reduce the ultimate demand for our products, once approved, or put pressure on our product pricing.

The policies of the FDA or similar regulatory authorities may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. For example, in December 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act, or Cures Act, was signed into law. The Cures Act, among other things, is intended to modernize the regulation of drugs and biologics and spur innovation, but it has not yet been implemented and its ultimate implementation is unclear. If we or our collaborators are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we or our collaborators are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, our product candidates may lose any regulatory approval that may have been obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability, which would adversely affect our business.

We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. For example, certain policies of the Trump administration may impact our business and industry. Namely, the Trump administration has taken several executive actions, including the issuance of a number of executive orders, that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, FDA’s ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities such as implementing statutes through rulemaking, issuance of guidance, and review and approval of marketing applications. If these executive actions impose constraints on FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively impacted.

We cannot predict whether future healthcare legislative or policy changes will be implemented at the federal or state level or in countries outside of the United States in which we may do business, or the

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effect any future legislation or regulation will have on us, but we expect there will continue to be legislative and regulatory proposals at the federal and state levels directed at containing or lowering the cost of health care.

Cyber-attacks or other failures in our or our third-party vendors’, contractors’ or consultants’ telecommunications or information technology systems could result in information theft, data corruption and significant disruption of our business operations.

We utilize information technology, or IT, systems and networks and cloud computing services to process, transmit and store electronic information in connection with our business activities. We manage and maintain our applications and data utilizing a combination of on-site systems, managed data centers and cloud-based data centers. We utilize external security and infrastructure vendors to manage our information technology systems and data centers. These applications and data encompass a wide variety of business-critical information, including research and development information, commercial information, and business and financial information. We face a number of risks relative to protecting this critical information, including loss of access risk, inappropriate use or disclosure, inappropriate modification, and the risk of our being unable to adequately monitor, audit and modify our controls over our critical information. This risk extends to the third-party vendors and subcontractors we use to manage this sensitive data. Despite the implementation of security measures, given the size and complexity of our internal IT systems and those of our third-party vendors, contractors and consultants, and the increasing amounts of confidential information that they maintain, such IT systems are potentially vulnerable to breakdown or other damage or interruption from service interruptions, system malfunction, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and telecommunication and electrical failures. Such IT systems are additionally vulnerable to security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees, third-party vendors, contractors, consultants, business partners, and/or other third parties, or from cyber-attacks by malicious third parties (including the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering, and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information). These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks, the confidentiality and the availability and integrity of our data and these risks apply both to us, and to third parties on whose systems we rely for the conduct of our business.

Cyber threats are persistent and constantly evolving. Such threats have increased in frequency, scope and potential impact in recent years, which increase the difficulty of detecting and successfully defending against them. We may not be able to anticipate all types of security threats, and we may not be able to implement preventive measures effective against all such security threats. The techniques used by cyber criminals change frequently, may not be recognized until launched, and can originate from a wide variety of sources, including outside groups such as external service providers, organized crime affiliates, terrorist organizations, or hostile foreign governments or agencies. There can be no assurance that we or our third-party service providers, contractors or consultants will be successful in preventing cyber-attacks or successfully mitigating their effects. Similarly, there can be no assurance that such third-party service providers, contractors or consultants will be successful in protecting our clinical and other data that is stored on their systems. If the IT systems of our third-party vendors and other contractors and consultants become subject to disruptions or security breaches, we may have insufficient recourse against such third parties and we may have to expend significant resources to mitigate the impact of such an event, and to develop and implement protections to prevent future events of this nature from occurring. Any cyber-attack or destruction or loss of data could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. For example, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, or those of our third-party vendors and other contractors and consultants, it could result in a material disruption or delay of the development of our product candidates. In addition, we may suffer reputational harm or face litigation or adverse regulatory action as a result of cyber-attacks or other data security breaches and may incur significant additional expense to implement further data protection measures. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to incur material additional expenses in order to enhance our protective measures or to remediate any information security vulnerability.

We expect to expand our organization, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations. We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of clinical development and regulatory

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affairs, as well as to support our public company operations. We are currently constructing a new facility, designed for the development of a cGMP production process on a large industrial scale for market supply. To manage these growth activities, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Our management may need to devote a significant amount of its attention to managing these growth activities. Moreover, our expected growth could require us to relocate to a different geographic area of the country. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion or relocation of our operations, retain key employees, or identify, recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Our inability to manage the expansion or relocation of our operations effectively may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Our expected growth could also require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of additional product candidates. If we are unable to effectively manage our expected growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate revenues could be reduced and we may not be able to implement our business strategy, including the successful development and commercialization of our product candidates. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We are subject to stringent privacy laws, information security laws, regulations, policies and contractual obligations related to data privacy and security and changes in such laws, regulations, policies and contractual obligations could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We are subject to data privacy and protection laws and regulations that apply to the collection, transmission, storage and use of personally-identifying information, which among other things, impose certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of personal information. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve in jurisdictions worldwide, and there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data protection issues with the potential to affect our business. Failure to comply with any of these laws and regulations could result in enforcement action against us, including fines, imprisonment of company officials and public censure, claims for damages by affected individuals, damage to our reputation and loss of goodwill, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Additionally, if we are unable to properly protect the privacy and security of personal information, including protected health information, we could be found to have breached our contracts.

There are numerous U.S. federal and state laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of personal information. In particular, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, establish privacy and security standards that limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information, or protected health information, and require the implementation of administrative, physical and technological safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. Determining whether protected health information has been handled in compliance with applicable privacy standards and our contractual obligations can be complex and may be subject to changing interpretation. If we fail to comply with applicable privacy laws, including applicable HIPAA privacy and security standards, we could face civil and criminal penalties. The HHS has the discretion to impose penalties without attempting to first resolve violations. HHS enforcement activity can result in financial liability and reputational harm, and responses to such enforcement activity can consume significant internal resources. Even when HIPAA does not apply, failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers’ personal information secure can constitute unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce and be construed as a violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, or the FTCA, 15 U.S.C § 45(a). The Federal Trade Commission, or the FTC, expects a company’s data security measures to be reasonable and appropriate in light of the sensitivity and volume of consumer information it holds, the size and complexity of its business, and the cost of available tools to improve security and reduce vulnerabilities. Individually identifiable health information is considered sensitive data that merits stronger safeguards and the FTC’s guidance for appropriately securing consumers’ personal information is similar to what is required by the HIPAA Security Rule. In addition, state attorneys general are authorized to bring civil actions seeking either injunctions or damages in response to violations that threaten the

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privacy of state residents. We cannot be sure how these regulations will be interpreted, enforced or applied to our operations. In addition to the risks associated with enforcement activities and potential contractual liabilities, our ongoing efforts to comply with evolving laws and regulations at the federal and state level may be costly and require ongoing modifications to our policies, procedures and systems.

In addition, many states in which we operate have laws that protect the privacy and security of personal information. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, or CCPA, which increases privacy rights for California residents and imposes obligations on companies that process their personal information, came into effect on January 1, 2020. Among other things, the CCPA requires covered companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers and provide such consumers new data protection and privacy rights, including the ability to opt-out of certain sales of personal information. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for certain data breaches that result in the loss of personal information. State laws are changing rapidly and there is discussion in Congress of a new federal data protection and privacy law to which we would become subject if it is enacted.

Internationally, laws, regulations and standards in many jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, use, retention, security, disclosure, transfer and other processing of personal information. For example, in the European Union and the United Kingdom, the collection and use of personal data is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, in addition to other applicable laws and regulations. The GDPR came into effect in May 2018, repealing and replacing the European Union Data Protection Directive, and imposing revised data privacy and security requirements on companies in relation to the processing of personal data of European Union and United Kingdom data subjects. The GDPR, together with national legislation, regulations and guidelines of the European Union member states and the United Kingdom governing the processing of personal data, impose strict obligations with respect to, and restrictions on, the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer and processing of personal data. The GDPR authorizes fines for certain violations of up to 4% of the total global annual turnover of the preceding financial year or €20 million, whichever is greater. Such fines are in addition to any civil litigation claims by data subjects. Separately, Brexit could also lead to further legislative and regulatory changes and increase our compliance costs. In particular, the United Kingdom has transposed the GDPR into domestic law with a United Kingdom version of the GDPR taking effect in January 2021 (after the end of the transitional period) which could expose us to two parallel regimes each of which potentially authorizes fines for certain violations up to the greater of either 4% of the total global annual turnover of the preceding financial year or €20 million.Other jurisdictions outside the European Union are similarly introducing or enhancing privacy and data security laws, rules and regulations, which could increase our compliance costs and the risks associated with noncompliance. We cannot guarantee that we are, or will be, in compliance with all applicable international regulations as they are enforced now or as they evolve.

It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices and our efforts to comply with the evolving data protection rules may be unsuccessful. We must devote significant resources to understanding and complying with this changing landscape. Failure to comply with federal, state and international laws regarding privacy and security of personal information could expose us to penalties under such laws, orders requiring that we change our practices, claims for damages or other liabilities, regulatory investigations and enforcement action, litigation and significant costs for remediation, any of which could adversely affect our business. Even if we are not determined to have violated these laws, government investigations into these issues typically require the expenditure of significant resources and generate negative publicity, which have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do.

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. We face and will continue to face competition from third parties that use mRNA, gene editing or gene therapy development platforms and from third parties focused on other therapeutic modalities, such as small molecules, antibodies, biologics and nucleic acid-based therapies. The competition is likely to come from multiple sources, including large and specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic research institutions, government agencies and public and private research institutions.

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Many of our potential competitors, alone or with their strategic partners, have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development, clinical, marketing and manufacturing organizations. Mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even greater concentration of resources among a smaller number of competitors. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approvals for their products faster or earlier than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. Additionally, technologies developed by our competitors may render our product candidates uneconomical or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing our product candidates against competitors’ products. In addition, the availability of our competitors’ products could limit the demand and the prices we are able to charge for any products that we may develop and commercialize.

We depend heavily on our executive officers and managing directors, and the loss of their services would materially harm our business.

Our success depends, and will likely continue to depend, upon our ability to retain the services of our current executive officers, managing directors, principal consultants and other service providers, and our ability to hire new highly qualified personnel. We are highly dependent on the management, development, clinical, financial and business development expertise of our executive officers, managing directors, principal consultants and other service providers. In addition, we have established relationships with universities and research institutions which have historically provided, and continue to provide, us with access to research laboratories, clinical trials, facilities and patients. Our ability to compete in the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific and medical personnel.

In most cases, our personnel may only terminate their employment upon first providing notice. A limited number of agreements provide for at-will termination. If we lose one or more of our executive officers or other key employees, our ability to implement our business strategy successfully could be seriously harmed. Furthermore, replacing executive officers or other key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to develop, gain marketing approval of and commercialize products successfully.

We may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these additional key employees on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions.

Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, collaborators and contract research organizations may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could cause significant liability for us and harm our reputation.

We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors, consultants, collaborators and contract research organizations may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by those parties could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates: (i) FDA regulations or similar regulations of comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities, including those laws requiring the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities, (ii) manufacturing and clinical trial conduct standards, (iii) federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations and similar laws and regulations established and enforced by comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities and (iv) laws that require the reporting of financial information or data accurately. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with

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such laws, standards or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

As a result of our geographically diverse operations, we are more susceptible to certain risks.

We have offices and operations in three cities and in two countries. If we are unable to manage the risks of our global operations, including fluctuations in foreign exchange and inflation rates, international hostilities, natural disasters, security breaches, failure to maintain compliance with our clients’ control requirements and multiple legal and regulatory systems, our results of operations and ability to grow could be materially adversely affected.

Changes in our level of taxes, and audits, investigations and tax proceedings, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Although limited in terms of magnitude due to ongoing losses incurred so far, we are subject to income taxes in Germany and the United States. We calculate and provide for income taxes in each tax jurisdiction in which we operate. Tax accounting often involves complex matters and judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. We are subject to ongoing tax audits in Germany. In the future, tax authorities may disagree with our judgments or may take increasingly aggressive positions with respect to the judgments we make. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits in order to determine the appropriateness of our tax liabilities. However, our judgments might not be sustained as a result of these audits, and the amounts ultimately paid could be different from the amounts previously recorded. In addition, our effective tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities and changes in tax laws. Tax rates in the jurisdictions in which we operate may change as a result of macroeconomic or other factors outside of our control. Increases in the tax rate in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate could have a negative impact on our profitability. In addition, changes in tax laws, treaties or regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, may be unpredictable, particularly in less developed markets, and could become more stringent, which could materially adversely affect our tax position. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in U.S. Tax Law Could Adversely Affect Our Business and Financial Condition.

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” or the TCJA, which significantly amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Subject to the discussion of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCR Act, and the CARES Act below, the TCJA, among other things, reduces the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, limits the tax deduction for interest expense to 30% of adjusted taxable income, eliminates net operating loss carrybacks, imposes a one-time tax on offshore earnings at reduced rates regardless of whether they are repatriated, allows immediate deductions for certain new investments instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time, and modifies or repeals many business deductions and credits, including a reduction of the business tax credit for certain clinical testing expenses incurred in the testing of certain drugs for rare diseases or conditions generally referred to as “orphan drugs.” We continue to examine the impact these changes may have on our business. Notwithstanding the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the overall impact of the TCJA is uncertain and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected.

As part of Congress’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FFCR Act was enacted on March 18, 2020, and the CARES Act was enacted on March 27, 2020. Both contain numerous tax provisions. In particular, the CARES Act retroactively and temporarily (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2021) suspends application of the 80%-of-income limitation on the use of NOLs, which was enacted as part of the TCJA. It also provides that NOLs arising in any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017,

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and before January 1, 2021 are generally eligible to be carried back up to five years. The CARES Act also temporarily (for taxable years beginning in 2019 or 2020) relaxes the limitation of the tax deductibility for net interest expense by increasing the tax deduction cap from 30% to a 50% cap of adjusted taxable income. Regulatory guidance under the TCJA, the FFCR Act and the CARES Act is and continues to be forthcoming, and such guidance could ultimately increase or lessen impact of these laws on our business and financial condition. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the TCJA, the FFCR Act or the CARES Act. Moreover, it is possible that Congress will enact additional legislation in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have an impact on our company.

We urge our shareholders, including purchasers of common shares in this offering, to consult with their legal and tax advisers with respect to the TCJA, the FFCR Act and the CARES Act and the potential tax consequences of investing in our common shares.

Uninsured losses arising from third-party claims brought against us could result in payment of substantial damages, which would decrease our cash reserves and could harm our profit and cash flow.

Our products are used in applications where the failure to use our products properly or their malfunction could result in serious bodily injury or death. We may not have adequate insurance to cover the payment of any potential claim related to such injuries or deaths. Insurance coverage may not continue to be available to us or, if available, may be at a significantly higher cost.

We are exposed to potential product liability and professional indemnity risks that are inherent in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and use of pharmaceutical products.

The use of our investigational medicinal products in clinical trials and the sale of any approved products in the future may expose us to liability claims. These claims might be made by patients who use the product, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling such products. Any claims against us, regardless of their merit, could be difficult and costly to defend and could materially adversely affect the market for our product candidates or any prospects for commercialization of our product candidates.

Although the clinical trial process is designed to identify and assess potential side effects, it is always possible that a product, even after regulatory approval, may exhibit unforeseen side effects. If any of our product candidates were to cause adverse side effects during clinical trials or after approval of the product candidate, we may be exposed to substantial liabilities. Physicians and patients may not comply with any warnings that identify known potential adverse effects and patients who should not use our product candidates.

To cover such liability claims, we purchase clinical trial insurances in the conduct of each of our clinical trials. It is possible that our liabilities could exceed our insurance coverage or that our insurance will not cover all situations in which a claim against us could be made. We also intend to expand our insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products if we receive marketing approval for any of our proprietary products. However, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or obtain insurance coverage that will be adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise. If a successful product liability claim or series of claims is brought against us for uninsured liabilities or in excess of insured liabilities, our assets may not be sufficient to cover such claims and our business operations could be impaired. Should any of the events described above occur, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including, but not limited to:

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decreased demand for our future product candidates;

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adverse publicity and injury to our reputation;

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withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

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initiation of investigations by regulators;

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costs to defend the related litigation;

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a diversion of management’s time and our resources;

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compensation in response to a liability claim;

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product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;

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loss of revenue;

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exhaustion of any available insurance and our capital resources; and

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the inability to commercialize our products or product candidates.

We could be adversely affected if we are subject to negative publicity. We could also be adversely affected if any of our products or any similar products distributed by other companies prove to be, or are asserted to be, harmful to patients. Any adverse publicity associated with illness or other adverse effects resulting from patients’ use or misuse of our products or any similar products distributed by other companies could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

Some of our product candidates are classified as gene therapies by the FDA and the EMA, and the FDA has indicated that products similar to our product candidates will be reviewed within its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, or CBER. Even though our mRNA product candidates are designed to have a different mechanism of action from gene therapies, the association of our product candidates with gene therapies could result in increased regulatory burdens, impair the reputation of our product candidates, or negatively impact our platform or our business.

There have been few approvals of gene therapy products in the United States and other jurisdictions, and there have been well-reported significant adverse events associated with their testing and use. Gene therapy products have the effect of introducing new DNA and potentially irreversibly changing the DNA in a cell. In contrast, mRNA is highly unlikely to localize to the nucleus, integrate into cell DNA, or otherwise make any permanent changes to cell DNA. Consequently, we expect that our product candidates will have a different potential side effect profile from gene therapies because they lack risks associated with altering cell DNA irreversibly. Further, we may avail ourselves of ways of mitigating side effects in developing our product candidates to address safety concerns that are not available to all gene therapies, such as lowering the dose of our product candidates during repeat dosing or stopping treatment to potentially ameliorate undesirable side effects.

Regulatory requirements governing gene and cell therapy products have evolved and may continue to change in the future, and the implications for mRNA-based medicines is unknown. For example, the FDA has established the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies within CBER to consolidate the review of gene therapy and related products, and convenes the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER on its review. In the European Union, mRNA has been characterized as a Gene Therapy Medicinal Product. In certain countries, mRNA therapies have not yet been classified or any such classification is not known to us. Specifically, in Japan, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency has not taken a position on the regulatory classification. Notwithstanding the differences between our mRNA product candidates and gene therapies, the classification of some of our mRNA product candidates as gene therapies in the United States, the European Union and potentially other counties could adversely impact our ability to develop our product candidates, and could negatively impact our platform and our business. For instance, a clinical hold on gene therapy products across the field due to risks associated with altering cell DNA irreversibly may apply to our mRNA product candidates irrespective of the mechanistic differences between gene therapies and mRNA.

Adverse events reported with respect to gene therapies or genome editing therapies could adversely impact one or more of our programs. Although our mRNA product candidates are designed not to make any permanent changes to cell DNA, regulatory agencies or others could believe that adverse effects of gene therapy products caused by introducing new DNA and irreversibly changing the DNA in a cell could also be a risk for our mRNA investigational therapies, and as a result may delay one or more of our trials or impose additional testing for long-term side effects. Any new requirements and guidelines promulgated by regulatory review agencies may have a negative effect on our business by lengthening the regulatory review process, requiring us to perform additional or larger studies, or increasing our development costs, any of which could lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent advancement or approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval studies, limitations or restrictions. As we advance our product candidates, we will be required to consult with these

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regulatory agencies and advisory committees and comply with applicable requirements and guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of some or all of our product candidates.

Risks Related to Our Common Shares and the Offering

There is no existing market for our common shares, and we do not know whether one will develop to provide you with adequate liquidity. If our share price fluctuates after this offering, you could lose a significant part of your investment, and you may not be able to sell your common shares at or above the initial public offering price.

Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our common shares. If an active trading market does not develop, you may have difficulty selling any of our common shares that you buy. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our company will lead to the development of an active trading market on The Nasdaq Global Market, or otherwise, or how liquid that market might become. The initial public offering price for the common shares will be determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters and may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the open market following this offering. Consequently, you may not be able to sell our common shares at prices equal to or greater than the price paid by you in this offering. In addition to the risks described above, the market price of our common shares may be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

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the failure of financial analysts to cover our common shares after this offering or changes in financial estimates by analysts;

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actual or anticipated variations in our operating results;

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changes in financial estimates by financial analysts, or any failure by us to meet or exceed any of these estimates, or changes in the recommendations of any financial analysts that elect to follow our common shares or the shares of our competitors;

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announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts or acquisitions;

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future sales of our shares; and

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investor perceptions of us and the industries in which we operate.

These and other factors may cause the market price and demand for our common stock to fluctuate substantially, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares of common stock and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock. In addition, the stock market in general has from time to time experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations, including in recent months, that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies affected. These broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our common shares, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of certain companies’ securities, securities class action litigation has been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common shares to decline.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common shares to decline. This could also impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of our equity securities. Under our articles of association as they will read upon the closing of this offering, we will be authorized to issue up to common shares, of which common shares will be outstanding following this offering. We have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to offer, sell, or dispose of any shares of our share capital or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any shares of our share capital during the 180-day period following the date of this prospectus. Our managing directors and our supervisory directors, as well as certain of our existing shareholders, have agreed to substantially similar lock-up provisions, subject to certain exceptions. Following the expiration of the lock-up period, our existing

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shareholders may determine to sell their common shares, subject to certain restrictions. See “Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association.” We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our shares or the effect, if any, that future sales and issuances of shares would have on the market price of our common shares.

The trading price of our common shares may in the future be highly volatile, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our common shares in this offering, and a decline in our share price and invite securities litigation against our company or our management.

Our share price is likely to be highly volatile. The stock market in general and the market for smaller pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, you may not be able to sell your common shares at or above the public offering price and you may lose some or all of your investment. The market price for our common shares may be influenced by many factors, including:

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the results of our ongoing, planned or any future preclinical studies, clinical trials or clinical development programs;

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the timing, enrollment and results of clinical trials of our product candidates or any future clinical trials we may conduct, or changes in the development status of our product candidates;

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adverse results or delays in preclinical studies and clinical trials;

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regulatory actions with respect to our product candidates or our competitors’ products and product candidates;

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the success of existing or new competitive products or technologies;

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any delay in our development or regulatory filings for our product candidates and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority’s review of such filings, including without limitation the FDA’s issuance of a “refusal to file” letter or a request for additional information;

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announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, collaborations or capital commitments;

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commencement or termination of collaborations for our development programs;

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failure or discontinuation of any of our development programs;

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unanticipated serious safety concerns related to the use of our product candidates;

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our failure to commercialize our product candidates;

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results of clinical trials of product candidates of our competitors;

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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;

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developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;

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the recruitment or departure of key scientific or management personnel;

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the level of expenses related to any of our product candidates or clinical development programs;

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successful manufacturing of our products;

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the results of our efforts to develop additional product candidates or products;

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actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results or development timelines;

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our cash position;

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trading volume of our common shares;

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announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts;

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sales of our common shares by us, our insiders or other shareholders;

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variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;

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changes in accounting practices or the ineffectiveness of our internal controls;

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changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, that cover our shares, or the withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;

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significant lawsuits, including patent or shareholder litigation;

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changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;

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market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors specifically;

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general economic, industry and market conditions; and

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the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company and its management following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for biopharmaceutical companies, which have experienced significant share price volatility in recent years. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could cause us or members of our management to incur substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

In addition, the trading prices for common stock of other biopharmaceutical companies have been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which the outbreak may impact our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.

We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds received by us from this offering and the concurrent private placement and may invest or spend the proceeds in ways with which you do not agree and in ways that may not yield a return on your investment.

Although we currently intend to use the net proceeds received by us from this offering and the concurrent private placement in the manner described in the section titled “Use of Proceeds” in this prospectus, our management has broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common shares. For example, we intend to use the net proceeds received by us from this offering and the concurrent private placement, together with cash and cash equivalents on hand, to pursue the approval of our product candidates for a number of indications, some of which may never reach approval, as well as for general corporate purposes. You will not have the opportunity to influence our decisions on how to use our net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could harm our business, cause the price of our common shares to decline and delay the development of our product candidates. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.

Concentration of ownership by our principal shareholders may conflict with your interest and may prevent you from influencing significant corporate decisions.

Upon the completion of this offering, and after giving effect to (i) the consummation of the investments by Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, or KfW, Glaxo Group Limited, Qatar Holding LLC, or QIA and several other investors, or together the 2020 Private Investment, (ii) the consummation of the concurrent private placement to Mr. Hopp of €100 million at a price per share equal to the public offering price in this public offering and (iii) our corporate reorganization, our principal shareholders dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG, Walldorf, or dievini, will beneficially own approximately % of our common shares, KfW will beneficially own approximately % of our common shares, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same (or % and %, respectively, if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares).

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In addition, dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) will have the right under our articles of association to make a binding nomination for the following number of supervisory directors as of the closing of this offering until dievini (or its legal successors or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) and its affiliates as defined by our articles of association and ultimate beneficiaries as defined by our articles of association (individually or collectively) ceases to own at least 10% of our issued share capital or an earlier change of control over dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) as defined by our articles of association, which period we refer to as the initial nomination period for dievini:

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four (4) supervisory directors for as long as dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) and its affiliates (as defined by our articles of association) and ultimate beneficiaries (as defined by our articles of association) (individually or collectively) owns at least 70% of our issued share capital;

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three (3) supervisory directors for as long as dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) and its affiliates (as defined by our articles of association) and ultimate beneficiaries (as defined by our articles of association) (individually or collectively) owns at least 50% (but less than 70%) of our issued share capital;

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two (2) supervisory directors for as long as dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) and its affiliates (as defined by our articles of association) and ultimate beneficiaries (as defined by our articles of association) (individually or collectively) owns at least 30% (but less than 50%) of our issued share capital; and

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one (1) supervisory director for as long as dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) and its affiliates (as defined by our articles of association) and ultimate beneficiaries (as defined by our articles of association) (individually or collectively) owns at least 10% (but less than 30%) of our issued share capital.

Dievini and Mr. Dietmar Hopp may be able to significantly influence all matters requiring shareholder approval. Even when dievini ceases to own common shares representing a majority of the total voting power, for so long as dievini continues to own a significant percentage of our common shares, dievini will still be able to significantly influence the composition of our supervisory board and the approval of actions requiring shareholder approval. Accordingly, for such period of time, dievini will continue to have significant influence with respect to our management, business plans and policies, including the appointment and removal of our managing directors, decisions on whether to raise future capital and amending our organizational documents, which govern the rights attached to our common shares. In particular, for so long as dievini continues to own a significant percentage of common shares, it will be able to cause or prevent a change of control of us or a change in the composition of our supervisory board and could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of us.

In addition, KfW (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) will have the right under our articles of association, the KfW dievini Shareholders' Agreement and the ISA to make a binding nomination for one (1) supervisory director until KfW or any KfW affiliates as defined by our articles of association (individually or together with any other KfW affiliate) ceases to own at least 10% of our issued share capital, which period we refer to as the initial nomination period for KfW. Certain decisions require, and cannot be taken without, a resolution of our supervisory board that the KfW nominee, and a dievini nominee, have approved. These relate in particular to the location within the European Union of certain of our activities. The KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement includes provisions relating to voting together and in a coordinated fashion on certain specified matters as further described under “Related Party Transactions.”

The concentration of ownership and these nomination rights could deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your common shares as part of a sale of us and ultimately might affect the market price of our common shares. In addition, the concentration of voting power and these nomination rights could delay or prevent an acquisition of our company on terms that other shareholders may desire or result in the management of our company in ways with which other shareholders disagree.

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We may be required to redeem for cash all, or to facilitate the purchase by a third party of all, the shares of us held by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as per the date of the ISA if we default under the Global Access Agreement, which could have an adverse impact on us and limit our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.

We entered into a Global Access Agreement with our shareholder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in February 2015 pursuant to which we are required to take certain actions to support the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s mission. In the event that we commit a material breach of the Global Access Agreement or certain provisions of the ISA, following a cure period, we may be required to redeem for cash all, or to facilitate the purchase by a third party of all, the shares of our company held by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as per the date of the ISA at certain terms that may not be favorable to us. If this occurs, cash used for this purpose may, adversely affect our liquidity, cause us to reduce expenditures in other areas of our business, or curtail our growth plans. If we do not have sufficient cash on hand to purchase the shares, we would have to seek financing alternatives in order to meet our obligations, and there is no certainty that financing would be available on reasonable terms or at all. For the period that we are unable to redeem the shares held by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or arrange for a third party to purchase such shares, we will generally not be allowed to pay dividends, redeem the shares of any other shareholder or otherwise make any other distribution to any of our shareholders in connection with their shares. Therefore, meeting this purchase obligation, if necessary, could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. For more information on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s withdrawal rights, see “Related Party Transactions — Investment and Shareholders’ Agreement.”

Transformation into a public company may increase our costs and disrupt the regular operations of our business.

This offering will have a significant transformative effect on us. Our business historically has operated as a privately owned company, and we expect to incur significant additional legal, accounting, reporting and other expenses as a result of having publicly traded common shares. We will also incur costs which we have not incurred previously, including, but not limited to, costs and expenses for managing directors’ and supervisory directors’ fees, increased directors and officers insurance, investor relations, and various other costs of a public company.

We also anticipate that we will incur costs associated with corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some management and corporate governance activities more time-consuming and costly, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” These rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. This could have an adverse impact on our ability to retain, recruit and bring on a qualified independent supervisory board. We expect that the additional costs we will incur as a public company, including costs associated with corporate governance requirements, will be considerable relative to our costs as a private company.

The additional demands associated with being a public company may disrupt regular operations of our business by diverting the attention of some of our senior management team away from revenue producing activities to management and administrative oversight, adversely affecting our ability to attract and complete business opportunities and increasing the difficulty in both retaining professionals and managing and growing our businesses. Any of these effects could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

For as long as we are an “emerging growth company” under the recently enacted JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years. See “Prospectus Summary — Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company.” Furthermore, after the date we are no longer an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm will only be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting depending on our market capitalization. Even if our management

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concludes that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may still decline to attest to our management’s assessment or may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, in connection with the implementation of the necessary procedures and practices related to internal control over financial reporting, we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the deadline imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for compliance with the requirements of Section 404. Failure to comply with Section 404 could subject us to regulatory scrutiny and sanctions, impair our ability to raise revenue, cause investors to lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and negatively affect our share price.

We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we are not subject to U.S. proxy rules and are subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. domestic public company.

We report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including (i) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act, (ii) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time and (iii) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events. In addition, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F until four months after the end of each fiscal year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 75 days after the end of each fiscal year. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from the Regulation Fair Disclosure, aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. As a result of the above, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers.

We may lose our foreign private issuer status which would then require us to comply with the Exchange Act’s domestic reporting regime and cause us to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses.

We are a foreign private issuer and therefore we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. If in the future we are not a foreign private issuer as of the last day of the second fiscal quarter in any fiscal year, we would be required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure, current reporting requirements and proxy solicitation rules of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. In order to maintain our current status as a foreign private issuer, either (a) a majority of our common shares must be either directly or indirectly owned of record by non-residents of the United States or (b)(i) a majority of our managing directors, supervisory directors and executive officers may not be United States citizens or residents, (ii) more than 50% of our assets cannot be located in the United States and (iii) our business must be administered principally outside the United States. If we were to lose this status, we would be required to comply with the Exchange Act reporting and other requirements applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, which are more detailed and extensive than the requirements for foreign private issuers. We may also be required to make changes in our corporate governance practices in accordance with various SEC and stock exchange rules. The regulatory and compliance costs to us if we are required to comply with the reporting requirements applicable to a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly higher than the costs we would incur as a foreign private issuer. As a result, we expect that a loss of foreign private issuer status would increase our legal and financial compliance costs and would make some activities highly time consuming and costly. These rules and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified managing directors and supervisory directors.

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As a foreign private issuer and as permitted by the listing requirements of Nasdaq, we follow certain home country governance practices rather than the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq.

We are a foreign private issuer. As a result, in accordance with the listing requirements of Nasdaq we will rely on home country governance requirements and certain exemptions thereunder rather than relying on the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq. In accordance with Dutch law and generally accepted business practices, our articles of association do not provide quorum requirements generally applicable to general meetings. To this extent, our practice varies from the requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5620(c), which requires an issuer to provide in its bylaws for a generally applicable quorum, and that such quorum may not be less than one-third of the outstanding voting shares. Although we must provide shareholders with an agenda and other relevant documents for the general meeting, Dutch law does not have a regulatory regime for the solicitation of proxies and the solicitation of proxies is not a generally accepted business practice in the Netherlands, thus our practice will vary from the requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5620(b). As permitted by the listing requirements of Nasdaq, we have also opted out of the requirements of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(d), which requires, among other things, an issuer to have a compensation committee that consists entirely of independent directors, Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(e), which requires independent director oversight of director nominations, and Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(b)(1), which requires an issuer to have a majority of independent directors on its board. We will also rely on the phase-in rules of the SEC and Nasdaq with respect to the independence of our audit committee. These rules require that a majority of our supervisory directors must be independent and all members of our audit committee must meet the independence standard for audit committee members within one year of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. In addition, we have opted out of shareholder approval requirements, as included in the Nasdaq Listing Rules, for the issuance of securities in connection with certain events such as the acquisition of shares or assets of another company, the establishment of or amendments to equity-based compensation plans for employees, a change of control of our company and certain private placements. To this extent, our practice varies from the requirements of Nasdaq Rule 5635, which generally requires an issuer to obtain shareholder approval for the issuance of securities in connection with such events. For an overview of our corporate governance principles, see “Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association.” Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these Nasdaq requirements.

Although we do not believe that we were a “passive foreign investment company,” or a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our 2019 taxable year, we have not yet determined our expected PFIC status for the current taxable year or any future taxable year. A U.S. holder of common shares may suffer adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences if we are a PFIC for any taxable year.

Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, we will generally be a PFIC for any taxable year in which, after the application of certain look-through rules with respect to subsidiaries, either (i) 75% or more of our gross income consists of “passive income,” or (ii) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of our assets consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, “passive income.” Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, certain non-active rents and royalties, and capital gains. The value of a non-U.S. corporation’s goodwill that is associated with activities that produce or are intended to produce active income is generally an active asset for purposes of the asset test unless, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the non-U.S. corporation is a “controlled foreign corporation” (CFC) that is not publicly traded “for the taxable year.” If a non-U.S. corporation is a CFC that is not publicly traded for the taxable year, its PFIC status under the asset test is determined by using the U.S. tax basis of its assets rather than their fair market value and therefore the market value of its goodwill is generally disregarded. Generally, a non-U.S. corporation is a CFC if more than 50% of its shares’ voting power or value is owned, directly, indirectly or constructively, by “United States shareholders” (as defined in Section 951(b) of the Code). Although it is not certain, we may be or may have been a CFC in the current taxable year. However, under recently proposed Treasury regulations (the preamble to which specifies that a taxpayer may generally choose to apply them in their entirety prior to their finalization provided that the taxpayer consistently applies them), or the Proposed Regulations, the fair market value of our assets (including goodwill) can be used for purposes of the asset test provided that (i) we are publicly traded on the majority of days during our taxable year or (ii) we would not be a CFC if certain constructive ownership rules were not applied. Although no assurances may be given in this regard, we expect that we would be eligible in our 2020 taxable year to use the fair market value of our assets for purposes of the asset test, and U.S. investors

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are urged to consult their tax advisers whether they could apply the Proposed Regulations for purposes of the asset test. The remainder of this discussion assumes that U.S. Holders will choose to apply the Proposed Regulations in their entirety.

Based on the composition of our income and assets during 2019, we do not believe that we were a PFIC for our 2019 taxable year. However, PFIC status is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis after the end of each taxable year, and we have not yet determined our expected PFIC status for the current taxable year or any future taxable year. Whether we will be a PFIC in 2020 or any future year is uncertain because, among other things, (i) we currently own, and will own after the closing of this offering, a substantial amount of passive assets, including cash, (ii) the valuation of our assets that generate non-passive income for PFIC purposes, including our intangible assets, is uncertain and may vary substantially over time, (iii) the treatment of grants as income for U.S. federal income tax purposes is unclear, and (iv) the composition of our income may vary substantially over time. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC in 2020 or any future taxable year.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. investor holds common shares, we generally would continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to that U.S. investor for all succeeding years during which the U.S. investor holds common shares, even if we ceased to meet the threshold requirements for PFIC status. Such a U.S. investor may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences, including (i) the treatment of all or a portion of any gain on disposition as ordinary income, (ii) the application of a deferred interest charge on such gain and the receipt of certain dividends and (iii) compliance with certain reporting requirements. There is no assurance that we will provide information that will enable investors to make a qualified electing fund election, also known as a QEF Election, that could mitigate the adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences should we be classified as a PFIC. See “Taxation — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations to U.S. Holders.”

We are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common shares less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We cannot predict if investors will find our common shares less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years following the year in which we complete this offering, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier. We would cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue; (ii) the date we qualify as a “large accelerated filer” with at least $700 million of equity securities; (iii) the issuance, in any three-year period, by our company of more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities held by non-affiliates; and (iv) the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering.

We cannot predict if investors will find our common shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common shares and our share price may be more volatile.

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Insiders will continue to have substantial control over us after this offering and could limit your ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.

Our principal shareholders, managing directors, supervisory directors and executive officers and entities affiliated with them will own approximately % of the outstanding common shares after the closing of this offering. As a result, these shareholders, if acting together, would be able to influence or control matters requiring approval by our general meeting, including the appointment of managing directors and supervisory directors, changes to our articles of association and approval of mergers or other extraordinary transactions. They may also have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. The concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company, could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common shares as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common shares.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on our company. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our company, the trading price for our common shares would likely be negatively impacted. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrades our common shares or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price may decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our shares could decrease, which might cause our share price and trading volume to decline.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, for the foreseeable future, to fund the development and growth of our business. We do not intend to pay any dividends to holders of our common shares. As a result, capital appreciation in the price of our common shares, if any, will be your only source of gain on an investment in our common shares.

If we do pay dividends, we may need to withhold tax on such dividends payable to holders of our shares in both Germany and the Netherlands.

We do not intend to pay any dividends to holders of our common shares. See “Risk Factors — We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.” However, if we do pay dividends, we may need to withhold tax on such dividends both in Germany and the Netherlands.

As an entity incorporated under Dutch law, any dividends distributed by us are subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax on the basis of Dutch domestic law. However, on the basis of the 2012 Convention between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income, or the “double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands,” the Netherlands will be restricted in imposing these taxes if we are also a tax resident of Germany and our effective management is located in Germany, or the withholding tax restriction. See also “— We may become taxable in a jurisdiction other than Germany and this may increase the aggregate tax burden on us.” The withholding tax restriction does, however, not apply, and Dutch dividend withholding tax is still required to be withheld from dividends, if and when paid to Dutch resident holders of our common shares (and non-Dutch resident holders of our common shares that have a permanent establishment in the Netherlands to which their shareholding is attributable). As a result, upon a payment of dividends, we will be required to identify our shareholders in order to assess whether there are Dutch residents (or non-Dutch residents with a permanent establishment in the Netherlands to which the common shares are attributable) in respect of which Dutch dividend tax has to be withheld. Such identification may not always be possible in practice. If the identity of our shareholders cannot be determined, withholding of both German and Dutch dividend tax may occur upon a payment of dividends.

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Furthermore, the withholding tax restriction referred to above is based on the current reservation made by Germany under the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, or the MLI, with respect to the tie-breaker provision included in Article 4(3) of the double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands, or the MLI tie-breaker reservation. If Germany changes its MLI tie-breaker reservation, we will not be entitled to any benefits of the double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands, including the withholding tax restriction, as long as Germany and the Netherlands do not reach an agreement on our tax residency for purposes of the double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands, and, as a result, any dividends distributed by us during the period no such agreement has been reached between Germany and the Netherlands, may be subject to withholding tax both in Germany and the Netherlands.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited.

Our ability to utilize our net operating losses, or NOLs, is currently limited, and may be limited further, under Section 8c of the German Corporation Income Tax Act (Korperschaftsteuergesetz, or KStG) and Section 10a of the German Trade Tax Act (Gewerbesteuergesetz, or GewStG). These limitations apply if a qualified ownership change, as defined by Section 8c KStG, occurs and no exemption is applicable.

Generally, a qualified ownership change occurs if more than 50% of the share capital or the voting rights are directly or indirectly transferred to a shareholder or a group of shareholders within a period of five years. A qualified ownership change may also occur in case of a transaction comparable to a transfer of shares or voting rights or in case of an increase in capital leading to a respective change in the shareholding. In the case of such a qualified ownership change tax loss carryforwards expire in full. To the extent that the tax loss carryforwards do not exceed the built-in gains (stille Reserven) in the assets and liabilities taxable in Germany, they may be further utilized despite a qualified ownership change. In case of a qualified ownership change within a group, tax loss carryforwards will be preserved if certain conditions are satisfied. In case of a qualified ownership change, tax loss carryforwards will be preserved (in the form of a “fortfuhrungsgebundener Verlustvortrag”) if the business operations have not been changed and will not be changed within the meaning of Section 8d KStG.

According to an appeal filed by the fiscal court of Hamburg dated August 29, 2017, Section 8c, paragraph 1, sentence 1 KStG is not in line with the German constitution. The appeal is still pending. It is unclear when the Federal Constitutional Court will decide this case.

As of March 31, 2020, there are NOLs of CureVac AG and CureVac Real Estate GmbH for German corporate tax purposes of approximately €435,124,000: €415,205,000 for CureVac AG and €19,919,000 for CureVac Real Estate GmbH and for German trade tax purposes of approximately €432,813,000: €413,225,000 for CureVac AG and €19,588,000 for CureVac Real Estate GmbH available. The intended contribution of 100% of CureVac AG’s shares into CureVac B.V. qualifies as an ownership change within the meaning of Section 8c KStG and Section 10a GewStG. The available tax loss carryforwards of CureVac AG and CureVac Real Estate GmbH will generally expire in full. However, the NOLs would not be forfeited to the extent that CureVac AG and CureVac Real Estate GmbH have built-in gains in their assets that are fully taxable in Germany. The built-in gains are determined by comparing the Fair Market Value of the respective entity with the entity’s tax book equity. A preliminary determination of the built-in gains has shown that all of the tax loss carry forwards would be maintained.

Future changes in share ownership may also trigger an ownership change and, consequently, a Section 8c KStG or a Section 10a GewStG limitation. Any limitation may result in the expiration of a portion or the complete tax operating loss carryforwards before they can be utilized. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards to reduce German income tax may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future cash tax liability to us.

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Investors purchasing common shares in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution as a result of this offering and any future equity issuances.

The initial public offering price of our common shares is substantially higher than the pro forma net tangible book value per common share. Dilution is the difference between the initial public offering price per common share and the pro forma net tangible book value per common share after this offering. If you purchase common shares in this offering, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution in the amount of $ per common share. We also have approximately outstanding share options to purchase common shares with exercise prices that are below the assumed initial public offering price of the common shares. To the extent that these options are exercised, there will be further dilution. See “Dilution.”

Shareholders may not be able to exercise preemptive rights and, as a result, may experience substantial dilution upon future issuances of common shares.

In the event of an issuance of common shares, subject to certain exceptions, each shareholder will have a pro rata preemptive right in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of the common shares held by such holder. These preemptive rights may be restricted or excluded by a resolution of the general meeting or by another corporate body designated by the general meeting. Prior to the closing of this offering, our management board, subject to approval of our supervisory board, will be authorized, for a period of five years to issue shares or grant rights to subscribe for shares up to our authorized share capital from time to time and to limit or exclude preemptive rights in connection therewith. This could cause existing shareholders to experience substantial dilution of their interest in us.

We may become taxable in a jurisdiction other than Germany and this may increase the aggregate tax burden on us.

Since our incorporation we have had, on a continuous basis, our place of “effective management” in Germany. We will therefore qualify as a tax resident of Germany on the basis of German domestic law. As an entity incorporated under Dutch law, however, we also qualify as a tax resident of the Netherlands on the basis of Dutch domestic law. However, based on our current management structure and the current tax laws of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as applicable income tax treaties, and current interpretations thereof, we should qualify solely as a tax resident of Germany for the purposes of the double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands due to the “effective management” tie-breaker included in Article 4(3) of the double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands.

The test of “effective management” is largely a question of fact and degree based on all the circumstances, rather than a question of law. Nevertheless, the relevant case law and OECD guidance suggest that our company is likely to be regarded as having become German tax resident from incorporation and remaining so if, as our company intends, (i) most meetings of its management board are prepared and held in Germany (and none will be held in the Netherlands) with a majority of managing directors present in Germany for those meetings; (ii) at those meetings there are full discussions of, and decisions are made regarding, the key strategic issues affecting our company and its subsidiaries; (iii) those meetings are properly minuted; (iv) a majority of our managing directors, together with supporting staff, are based in Germany; and (v) our company has permanent staffed office premises in Germany. We may, however, become subject to limited income tax liability in other countries with regard to the income generated in the respective other country, for example, due to the existence of a permanent establishment or a permanent representative in such other country.

The applicable tax laws or interpretations thereof may change. Furthermore, whether we have our place of effective management in Germany and are as such tax resident in Germany is largely a question of fact and degree based on all the circumstances, rather than a question of law, which facts and degree may also change. Changes to applicable laws or interpretations thereof, changes to applicable facts and circumstances (for example, a change of directors or the place where board meetings take place), or changes to applicable income tax treaties, including a change to the MLI tie-breaker reservation, may result in us becoming (also) a tax resident of the Netherlands or another jurisdiction. See “— If we do pay dividends, we may need to withhold tax on such dividends payable to holders of our shares in both Germany and the Netherlands.” As a consequence, our overall effective income tax rate and income tax expense could materially increase, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and

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prospects, which could cause our share price and trading volume to decline. In addition, as a consequence, dividends distributed by us, if any, may become subject to dividend withholding tax in more than one jurisdiction. The double taxation of income and the double withholding tax on dividends may be reduced or avoided entirely under the double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands or under a double tax treaty between the Netherlands and the respective other country.

Claims of U.S. civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.

We are incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands, and our headquarters is located in Germany. Most of our assets are located outside the United States. The majority of our managing directors and supervisory directors reside outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon such persons or to enforce against them or us in U.S. courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States.

There is currently no treaty between the United States and the Netherlands for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any federal or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, would not be enforceable in the Netherlands unless the underlying claim is relitigated before a Dutch court of competent jurisdiction. Under current practice, however, a Dutch court will generally, subject to compliance with certain procedural requirements, grant the same judgment without a review of the merits of the underlying claim if such judgment (i) is a final judgment and has been rendered by a court which has established its jurisdiction vis-à-vis the relevant Dutch companies or Dutch company, as the case may be, on the basis of internationally accepted grounds of jurisdiction, (ii) has not been rendered in violation of principles of proper procedure (behoorlijke rechtspleging), (iii) is not contrary to the public policy of the Netherlands, and (iv) is not incompatible with (a) a prior judgment of a Dutch court rendered in a dispute between the same parties, or (b) a prior judgment of a foreign court rendered in a dispute between the same parties, concerning the same subject matter and based on the same cause of action, provided that such prior judgment is capable of being recognized in the Netherlands and except to the extent that the foreign judgment contravenes Dutch public policy (openbare orde). Dutch courts may deny the recognition and enforcement of punitive damages or other awards. Moreover, a Dutch court may reduce the amount of damages granted by a U.S. court and recognize damages only to the extent that they are necessary to compensate actual losses or damages. Enforcement and recognition of judgments of U.S. courts in the Netherlands are solely governed by the provisions of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure.

The United States and Germany currently do not have a treaty providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments, in civil and commercial matters. Consequently, a final judgment for payment or declaratory judgments given by a court in the United States, whether or not predicated solely upon U.S. securities laws, would not automatically be recognized or enforceable in Germany. German courts may deny the recognition and enforcement of a judgment rendered by a U.S. court if they consider the U.S. court not to be competent or the decision to be in violation of German public policy principles. For example, judgments awarding punitive damages are generally not enforceable in Germany. A German court may reduce the amount of damages granted by a U.S. court and recognize damages only to the extent that they are necessary to compensate actual losses or damages.

In addition, actions brought in a German court against us, our managing directors, our supervisory directors, our senior management and the experts named herein to enforce liabilities based on U.S. federal securities laws may be subject to certain restrictions. In particular, German courts generally do not award punitive damages. Litigation in Germany is also subject to rules of procedure that differ from the U.S. rules, including with respect to the taking and admissibility of evidence, the conduct of the proceedings and the allocation of costs. German procedural law does not provide for pre-trial discovery of documents, nor does Germany support pre-trial discovery of documents under the 1970 Hague Evidence Convention. Proceedings in Germany would have to be conducted in the German language and all documents submitted to the court would, in principle, have to be translated into German. For these reasons, it may be difficult for a U.S. investor to bring an original action in a German court predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us, our managing directors, our supervisory directors, our senior management and the experts named in this prospectus.

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Based on the foregoing, there can be no assurance that U.S. investors will be able to enforce against us or managing directors, supervisory directors, executive officers or certain experts named herein who are residents of or possessing assets in the Netherlands, Germany, or other countries other than the United States any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities laws.

Upon the closing of this offering, we will be a Dutch public company. The rights of our shareholders may be different from the rights of shareholders in companies governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions and may not protect investors in a similar fashion afforded by incorporation in a U.S. jurisdiction.

Upon the closing of this offering, we will be a public company (naamloze vennootschap) organized under the laws of the Netherlands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our articles of association, the rules of our management board and those of our supervisory board and by the laws governing companies incorporated in the Netherlands. However, there can be no assurance that Dutch law will not change in the future or that it will serve to protect investors in a similar fashion afforded under corporate law principles in the United States, which could adversely affect the rights of investors.

The rights of shareholders and the responsibilities of managing directors and supervisory directors may be different from the rights and obligations of shareholders and directors in companies governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions. In the performance of their duties, our managing directors and supervisory directors are required by Dutch law to consider the interests of our company, its shareholders, its employees and other stakeholders, in all cases with due observation of the principles of reasonableness and fairness. It is possible that some of these parties will have interests that are different from, or in addition to, your interests as a shareholder.

For more information on relevant provisions of Dutch corporation law and of our articles of association, see “Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association” and “Comparison of Dutch Corporate Law and U.S. Corporate Law.”

Provisions of our articles of association or Dutch corporate law might deter acquisition bids for us that might be considered favorable and prevent, delay or frustrate any attempt to replace or remove our managing directors or supervisory directors.

Under Dutch law, various protective measures are possible and permissible within the boundaries set by Dutch law and Dutch case law. In this respect, our general meeting shall authorize our management board, subject to the approval by our supervisory board, to grant a call option to an independent foundation under Dutch law (if and when incorporated), or protective foundation, to acquire preferred shares pursuant to a call option agreement, or the call option agreement, that may be entered into between us and such protective foundation after the later of (a) dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) and its affiliates as defined by our articles of association and ultimate beneficiaries as defined by our articles of association (individually or collectively) no longer holding at least 25% of our issued share capital (or an earlier change of control over dievini, as defined in our articles of association), which we refer to as the initial period, or (b) the termination or expiry of the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement (see “Related Party Transactions — Shareholders’ Agreement Among KfW, dievini and Mr. Hopp” for further information on that agreement), which we refer to as the initial approval period.

This call option, if and when granted, shall be continuous in nature and can be exercised repeatedly on multiple occasions. If the protective foundation, if and when incorporated, would exercise such call option, if and when granted, a number of preferred shares up to 100% of our issued share capital held by others than the protective foundation, minus one share, will be issued to the protective foundation. These preferred shares would then be issued to the protective foundation under the obligation to pay up 25% of their nominal value upon issuance. In order for the protective foundation to finance the issue price in relation to the preferred shares, the protective foundation may enter into a finance arrangement with a bank or other financial institution. As an alternative to securing this external financing, subject to applicable restrictions under Dutch law, the call option agreement, if and when entered into, will provide that the protective foundation may request us to provide, or cause our subsidiaries to provide, sufficient funding to the protective foundation to enable it to satisfy the payment obligation (or part thereof) in cash and/or to charge an

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amount equal to the payment obligation (or part thereof) against our profits and/or reserves in satisfaction of such payment obligation. The articles of association of the protective foundation, if and when incorporated, will provide that it will promote and protect the interests of the company, the business connected with the company and the company's stakeholders from time to time, and repressing possible influences which could threaten the strategy, continuity, independence and/or identity of the company or the business connected with it, to such an extent that this could be considered to be damaging to the aforementioned interests. These influences may include a third party acquiring a significant percentage of our common shares, the announcement of an unsolicited public offer for our common shares, shareholder activism, other concentration of control over our common shares or any other form of undue pressure on us to alter our strategic policies. The protective foundation, if and when incorporated, shall be structured to operate independently of us.

The voting rights of our shares are based on nominal value and, as we expect our common shares to trade substantially in excess of their nominal value, preferred shares issued at 25% of their nominal value can carry significant voting power for a substantially reduced price compared to the price of our common shares and thus can be used as a defensive measure. These preferred shares, if and when issued, will have both a liquidation and dividend preference over our common shares and will accrue cash dividends at a fixed rate calculated over the amount paid-up on those preferred shares pro rata tempore for the period during which they were outstanding. The protective foundation would be expected to require us to cancel its preferred shares, if and when issued to the protective foundation, once the perceived threat to the company and its stakeholders has been removed or sufficiently mitigated or neutralized. However, subject to the same limitations described above, the protective foundation would, in that case, continue to have the right to exercise the call option in the future in response to a new threat to the interests of us, our business and our stakeholders from time to time.

In addition, certain provisions of our articles of association may make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire control of us or effect a change in our management board and supervisory board. These include:

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a provision that our managing directors and supervisory directors are appointed on the basis of a binding nomination, the binding nature of which can only be overruled by a simple majority of votes cast representing at least one-third of our issued share capital;

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a provision that our managing directors and supervisory directors may only be dismissed by the general meeting by a two-thirds majority of votes cast representing more than 50% of our issued share capital (unless the dismissal is proposed by the supervisory board or, with respect to supervisory directors nominated by dievini or KfW, by dievini (or its legal successor or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) during the nomination period for dievini or by KfW (or its legal successors or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) during the nomination period for KfW, respectively, in which case a simple majority of the votes would be sufficient);

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a provision that certain provisions of our articles of association can only be amended with the affirmative vote of (i) during the nomination period for dievini, dievini (or its legal successors or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement) and (ii) during the nomination period for KfW, KfW (or its legal successors or permitted assigns under the KfW dievini Shareholders’ Agreement);

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a provision that if a supervisory director is no longer in office or is unable to act, he or she may be replaced temporarily by a person who the supervisory board has designated for that purpose and, where a supervisory director who has been appointed upon a nomination of dievini or KfW, as applicable, is no longer in office or unable to act, such supervisory director may only be temporarily replaced by a person designated for such purposes by dievini or KfW, as applicable. Such person shall become a full member of the supervisory board with the rights of the relevant supervisory director appointed upon a nomination of dievini or KfW, as applicable, as soon as a written designation to that effect has been received by the chairman or vice-chairman of our supervisory board, subject to limitations, under applicable law regarding dievini’s rights under this provision;

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a provision allowing, among other matters, a former chairman of our supervisory board, a former nominee of dievini, and a former nominee of KfW to jointly take on the supervisory functions, which persons jointly may designate one or more other persons to be charged with the supervision of our company (instead of or together with the former chairman of our supervisory board), as applicable, to supervise our affairs if all of our supervisory directors are removed from office and to appoint others to be charged with the supervision of our affairs, until new supervisory directors are appointed by the general meeting on the basis of a binding nomination discussed above;

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a provision allowing the management board to temporarily replace a managing director who is no longer in office or unable to act, with another person or persons designated for this purpose by the management board and attributing the management of the company to the supervisory board in case all managing directors are no longer in office or unable to act; and

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a requirement that certain matters, including an amendment of our articles of association, may only be brought to our shareholders for a vote upon a proposal by our management board with the approval of our supervisory board.

In addition, Dutch law allows for staggered multi-year terms of our managing directors and supervisory directors, as a result of which only part of our managing directors and supervisory directors may be subject to appointment or re-appointment in any one year.

We are not obligated to, and do not, comply with all best practice provisions of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.

Upon the closing of this offering, we will be subject to the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, or the DCGC. The DCGC contains both principles and best practice provisions on corporate governance that regulate relations between the management board, the supervisory board and the general meeting and matters in respect of financial reporting, auditors, disclosure, compliance and enforcement standards. The DCGC is based on a “comply or explain” principle. Accordingly, companies are required to disclose in their annual reports, filed in the Netherlands, whether they comply with the provisions of the DCGC. If they do not comply with those provisions (for example, because of a conflicting Nasdaq requirement), the company is required to give the reasons for such noncompliance. The DCGC applies to Dutch companies listed on a government-recognized stock exchange, whether in the Netherlands or elsewhere, including Nasdaq. We do not comply with all best practice provisions of the DCGC. See “Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association.” This may affect your rights as a shareholder and you may not have the same level of protection as a shareholder in a Dutch company that fully complies with the DCGC.

We and our independent registered public accountants have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate the material weakness, or if other control deficiencies are identified, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately, prevent fraud or file our periodic reports as a public company in a timely manner.

Prior to this offering, we have been operating as a private company that was not required to comply with the obligations of a public company with respect to internal controls over financial reporting. We have historically operated with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls over financial reporting.

In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019, we and our independent registered public accountants identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness that was identified was primarily related to (a) a lack of sufficient accounting and supervisory personnel who have the appropriate level of technical accounting experience and training and (b) a lack of consistent application of accounting processes and procedures. These deficiencies constitute a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting in both design and operation. As a result of the material weakness, we failed to identify adjustments in various areas,

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including but not limited to grants from government agencies and similar bodies and capitalization of tangible and intangible assets. Additionally, certain of our documentation was insufficient for assessment of critical accounting guidance for complex or judgmental areas, including share-based compensation. We have relied on the assistance of outside advisors with expertise in these matters to assist us in the preparation of our financial statements and in our compliance with SEC reporting obligations related to this offering and expect to continue to do so while we remediate this material weakness.

We have initiated a remediation plan to address this material weakness; however, our control environment can still be improved, and as a result, we may be exposed to errors. We plan to take additional steps to remediate the material weakness and improve our accounting function, including hiring of additional senior level and staff accountants to support the timely completion of financial close procedures, implement robust processes, and provide additional needed technical expertise, and in the interim, continuing to engage third parties as required to assist with technical accounting, application of new accounting standards, tax matters and valuations of equity instruments. Additionally, we intend to develop and implement consistent accounting policies, internal control procedures and provide additional training to our accounting and finance staff.

While we are working to remediate the weakness as quickly and efficiently as possible, we cannot at this time, provide an estimate of the timeframe we expect in connection with implementing our plan to remediate this material weakness. These remediation measures may be time consuming, costly, and might place significant demands on our financial and operational resources. If we are unable to successfully remediate this material weakness, or other material weaknesses occur in the future, or successfully supervise and rely on outside advisors with expertise in these matters to assist us in the preparation of our financial statements, our financial statements could contain material misstatements that, when discovered in the future, could cause us to fail to meet our future reporting obligations and cause the price of our shares to decline significantly.

As a result of becoming a public company, we will be obligated to develop and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting in order to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may not complete our analysis of our internal control over financial reporting in a timely manner, or these internal controls may not be determined to be effective, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common shares. In addition, because of our status as an emerging growth company, you will not be able to depend on any attestation from our independent registered public accountants as to our internal control over financial reporting for the foreseeable future.

When we become a public company following this initial public offering, we will be required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our second annual report following the completion of this offering. The process of designing and implementing internal control over financial reporting required to comply with this requirement will be time-consuming, costly and complicated. If during the evaluation and testing process we identify one or more other material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting or determine that existing material weaknesses have not been remediated, our management will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. See “— Our independent registered public accountants have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to remediate the material weakness, or if other control deficiencies are identified, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately, prevent fraud or file our periodic reports as a public company in a timely manner.” In addition, if we fail to achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is qualified if it is not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed. However, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest formally to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act until the later of the filing of our second annual report following the completion of this offering or the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. Accordingly, you will not be able

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate” and “potential,” or other similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this prospectus and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our intent, belief or current expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to of various factors, including, but not limited to, those identified under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus. These risks and uncertainties include factors relating to:

•

our ability to obtain funding for our operations necessary to complete further development and commercialization of our product candidates;

•

the initiation, timing, progress, results, and cost of our research and development programs and our current and future preclinical studies and clinical trials, including statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of studies or trials and related preparatory work, the period during which the results of the trials will become available and our research and development programs;

•

the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our product candidates;

•

the ability and willingness of our third-party collaborators to continue research and development activities relating to our product candidates;

•

the exercise by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation of withdrawal rights;

•

our and our collaborators’ ability to obtain, maintain, defend and enforce our intellectual property protection for our proprietary and collaborative product candidates, and the scope of such protection;

•

the rate and degree of market acceptance of our products;

•

our ability to commercialize our product candidates, if approved;

•

our ability and the potential to successfully manufacture our drug substances and delivery vehicles for preclinical use, for clinical trials and on a larger scale for commercial use, if approved;

•

general economic, political, demographic and business conditions in the United States and Europe;

•

fluctuations in inflation and exchange rates in Europe;

•

our ability to implement our growth strategy;

•

our ability to compete and conduct our business in the future;

•

our ability to enroll patients for our clinical trials;

•

the availability of qualified personnel and the ability to retain such personnel;

•

regulatory developments and changes in the United States and foreign countries including tax matters;

•

our use of proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement;

•

our ability to overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to the conduct of our business;

•

other factors that may affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations; and

•

other risk factors discussed under “Risk Factors.”

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You should read this prospectus carefully with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. If our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. Other sections of this prospectus include additional factors which could adversely impact our business and financial performance. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame or at all. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. Thus, new risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to release publicly any revisions to these statements in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the offering will be approximately $ , assuming an initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us. Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) our net proceeds, assuming that the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, by $ million. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares, we estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $ million. In addition, we expect to receive €100 million in the concurrent private placement to Mr. Hopp.

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement, together with cash and cash equivalents on hand, as follows:

•

approximately $ million to advance our lead oncology program, CV8102, which is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial through the completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial;

•

approximately $ million to advance our lead vaccine program, CV7202, which is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial as a vaccine candidate for rabies through the completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial;

•

approximately $ million to fund clinical development of our mRNA vaccine program against SARS-CoV-2 that we are advancing in response to the global pandemic due to COVID-19 through the completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial;

•

approximately $ million to advance the development of our other preclinical and clinical programs;

•

approximately $ million to invest in further development of our mRNA technology platform;

•

approximately $ million to fund the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities; and

•

the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Our expected use of net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement represents our current intentions based upon our present plans and business condition. As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot predict with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to be received upon the completion of this offering and the concurrent private placement or the amounts that we will actually spend on the uses set forth above. The amounts and timing of our actual use of net proceeds will vary depending on numerous factors, including the timing and success of our current and future preclinical studies and clinical trials and the timing and outcome of regulatory submissions. As a result, our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement, and investors will be relying on our judgment regarding the application of the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement.

Pending their use, we plan to invest the net proceeds of this offering and the concurrent private placement in short- and intermediate-term interest-bearing investments.

We believe that the anticipated net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents, borrowings available to us and short-term investments, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through . We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. The anticipated net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, will not be sufficient for us to advance our product candidates through regulatory approval, and we will need to raise additional capital to complete the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates. In particular, we will need additional funds to advance our product candidates through Phase 3 clinical trials. We expect to finance our cash needs primarily through a combination of public or private equity offerings, strategic collaborations and debt financing. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never paid or declared any cash dividends on our common shares, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common shares in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and expansion of our business. As of the completion of our corporate reorganization, under Dutch law, we may only pay dividends to the extent our shareholders’ equity (eigen vermogen) exceeds the sum of the paid-in and called-up share capital plus the reserves required to be maintained by Dutch law or by our articles of association and (if it concerns a distribution of profits) after adoption of the annual accounts by the general meeting from which it appears that such dividend distribution is allowed. Subject to such restrictions, any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our management board with the approval of our supervisory board and will depend upon a number of factors, including our results of operations, financial condition, future prospects, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our management board and supervisory board deem relevant.

Under our articles of association, our management board may decide that all or part of the profits are added to our reserves. Before reservation of any profit, to the extent that preferred shares have been cancelled and preferred distributions on those cancelled shares are outstanding, the profits are first to be used to satisfy the outstanding claim to those who held those preferred shares at the moment of such cancellation becoming effective and subsequently if any preferred shares are outstanding, a dividend is paid out of the remaining profit on the preferred shares in accordance with our articles of association. This dividend, or preferred dividend, shall be calculated on the basis of a fixed rate over the amount paid-up on the outstanding preferred shares pro rata tempore for the period during which they were outstanding during the financial year concerned, and shall include any arrears in payment of prior years' preferred dividends (if any). The remaining profit will be at the disposal of the general meeting at the proposal of the management board for distribution on the common shares, subject to restrictions of Dutch law and approval by our supervisory board of such proposal of our management board. Our management board is permitted, subject to certain requirements, to declare interim dividends without the approval of the general meeting, but only with the approval of the supervisory board. Dividends and other distributions shall be made payable not later than the date determined by the management board. Claims to dividends and other distributions not made within five years from the date that such dividends or distributions became payable will lapse and any such amounts will be considered to have been forfeited to us (verjaring).

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CORPORATE REORGANIZATION

Introduction

CureVac B.V. is a Dutch private company with limited liability (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) that was incorporated for the purpose of making this offering. Upon the incorporation of CureVac B.V., Mr. Franz-Werner Haas, our chief executive officer, became the sole director and the sole shareholder of CureVac B.V., holding one common share in the capital of CureVac B.V., the nominal value of which (in the amount of €0.12) has not been paid-in. CureVac B.V. has no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities and will have no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities until the completion of our corporate reorganization. As part of the corporate reorganization, all of the interests in CureVac AG will be exchanged for new common shares of CureVac B.V. to be issued to the existing security holders of CureVac AG in the course of such exchange in the course of a capital increase of CureVac B.V., and as a result, CureVac AG will become a wholly owned subsidiary of CureVac B.V., while the current shareholders of CureVac AG will become the shareholders of CureVac B.V. In connection with such exchange, the common share in CureVac B.V. held by Mr. Franz-Werner Haas will be cancelled (ingetrokken). Subsequently, CureVac B.V. will convert into a Dutch public company (naamloze vennootschap) and change its name to CureVac N.V. Therefore, investors in this offering will only acquire, and this prospectus only describes the offering of, common shares of CureVac N.V. We refer to the reorganization described above as our “corporate reorganization.”

The corporate reorganization will take place in several steps as described below.

Exchange of CureVac AG Securities for CureVac B.V. Common Shares

Immediately following the pricing of this offering, the existing shareholders of CureVac AG will each become a party to a separate notarial deed of issue under Dutch law, the existing shareholders will (i) subscribe for new common shares in CureVac B.V. and (ii) agree to transfer their respective shares in CureVac AG to CureVac B.V. as a contribution in kind against issuance of the aforementioned common shares in CureVac B.V. in the course of a capital increase of CureVac B.V. Immediately thereafter, the existing shareholders of CureVac AG will effect such transfer of their respective shares in CureVac AG to CureVac B.V.. As a result of the issuance of common shares in CureVac B.V. to the shareholders of CureVac AG as consideration for the contribution and transfer of their respective shares in CureVac AG to CureVac B.V., CureVac B.V. will become the sole shareholder of CureVac AG.

Shares of CureVac B.V. to be Outstanding After the Corporate Reorganization

Shares of CureVac AG will be exchanged for common shares of CureVac B.V. on a -to- basis as provided for in each notarial deed of issue.

Upon completion of this share exchange (and prior to the closing of this offering), the current shareholders of CureVac AG will hold an aggregate of common shares of CureVac B.V.

Conversion of CureVac B.V. into CureVac N.V.

As part of the corporate reorganization, the legal form of CureVac B.V. will be converted from a Dutch private company with limited liability (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) to a Dutch public company (naamloze vennootschap), and the articles of association of CureVac N.V. will become effective. Such final step will take place by means of the execution of a notarial deed of conversion and amendment, which will take place prior to the listing of our common shares on Nasdaq. This deed of conversion and amendment shall be executed following the delivery of a Dutch auditor’s statement confirming that, on a day within five months prior to the conversion, our shareholders’ equity was at least equal to the paid-in part of our issued share capital as set forth in the deed of conversion and amendment. The conversion will result in a name change from CureVac B.V. to CureVac N.V. Our articles of association, as they will read upon the closing of this offering, are further described in the section “Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association” and are filed (as an English translation of the official Dutch version) as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

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CAPITALIZATION

The table below sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization (defined as long-term debt and shareholders’ equity) as of March 31, 2020 derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB:

•

on an actual basis;

•

on a pro forma basis to give effect to (i) the consummation of the 2020 Private Investment, (ii) the consummation of the concurrent private placement to Mr. Hopp of €100 million of our common shares at a price per share equal to the public offering price in this public offering, (iii) the repayment in full of the convertible loans entered into between us and Mr. Dietmar Hopp, or the Convertible Loans. See “Related Party Transactions — Convertible Loans with Mr. Hopp,” or the Loans, (iv) our corporate reorganization; and

•

on a pro forma as adjusted basis to give further effect to the issuance and sale of common shares in this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

This table should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Corporate Reorganization,” “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” and the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

March 31, 2020

Actual

Pro Forma

Pro Forma
As
Adjusted(1)

(in thousands of euros)
(unaudited)

Cash and cash equivalents

43,474

Convertible loans

67,078

Equity(2):

Issued capital

743

Capital reserve

495,327

Accumulated deficit

(539,797)

Other comprehensive income

Total shareholders’ equity

(43,657)

Total capitalization

23,241

(1)

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $ million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each increase (decrease) of 1.0 million in the number of shares we are offering would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, by approximately $ million, assuming the assumed initial public offering price remains the same. The actual net proceeds payable to us will adjust based on the actual number of common shares sold by us, the actual public offering price and other terms of the offering determined at pricing. U.S. dollar amounts have been translated into euros at a rate of USD to €1.00, the official exchange rate quoted as of , 2020 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Such U.S. dollar amounts are not necessarily indicative of the amounts of U.S. dollars that could actually have been purchased upon exchange of euros at the dates indicated.

(2)

Includes € equity component of outstanding Convertible Loans. On July 24, 2020, we terminated the Convertible Loans. We plan to repay the Convertible Loans prior to the consummation of this offering.

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DILUTION

If you invest in our common shares in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share and the as adjusted net tangible book value per common share after this offering.

At March 31, 2020, we had a pro forma net tangible book value of $ million (€ million), corresponding to a pro forma net tangible book value of $ per common share (€ per common share). Pro forma net tangible book value represents the amount of our total assets less our total liabilities, excluding intangible assets, divided by , the number of common shares issued and outstanding, after giving effect to (i) the consummation of the 2020 Private Investment, (ii) the consummation of the concurrent private placement to Mr. Hopp of €100 million of our common shares at a price per share equal to the public offering price in this public offering, (iii) the repayment in full of the Convertible Loans with Mr. Dietmar Hopp and (iv) our corporate reorganization.

After giving further effect to the sale of the common shares offered by us in the offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share (€ per common share), which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value estimated at March 31, 2020 would have been approximately $ (€ ), representing $ per common share (€ per common share). This represents an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value of $ per common share (€ per common share) to existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $ per common share (€ per common share) to new investors purchasing common shares in this offering. Dilution for this purpose represents the difference between the price per common shares paid by these purchasers and net tangible book value per common share immediately after the completion of the offering.

The following table illustrates this dilution to new investors purchasing common shares in the offering.

€

Assumed initial public offering price per common share

Pro forma net tangible book value per common share at March 31, 2020 after giving
effect to (i) the consummation of the 2020 Private Investment, (ii) the consummation
of the concurrent private placement to Mr. Hopp of €100 million of our common
shares at a price per share equal to the public offering price in this public offering,
(iii) the repayment in full of the Convertible Loans with Mr. Dietmar Hopp and (iv)
our corporate reorganization

Increase in net tangible book value per common share attributable to new investors

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per common share at March 31, 2020 after giving effect to the corporate reorganization and the offering

Dilution per common share to new investors

Percentage of dilution per common share to new investors

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the offering price per common share, respectively, would increase (decrease) the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value after this offering by $ per common share (€ per common share) and the dilution to new investors purchasing common shares in the offering by $ per common share (€ per common share). Each increase (decrease) of 1.0 million in the number of shares we are offering would increase (decrease) the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value after this offering by $ per common share (€ per common share) and the dilution to new investors purchasing common shares in the offering by $ per common share (€ per common share).

If the underwriters were to fully exercise their option to purchase additional shares, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per common share after the offering would be $ per common share (€ per common share), and the dilution per common share to new investors would be $ per common share (€ per common share), in each case at the initial public offering price of $ per common share (€ per common share).

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SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The following tables present selected consolidated financial data for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, and for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. We derived the selected consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) data for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the selected consolidated statement of financial position data as of December 31, 2019 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) data for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and the selected consolidated statement of financial position data as of March 31, 2020 have been derived from our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim data reflects all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the financial information in those statements.

Our historical results for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2020 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for a full year or any other interim period. We maintain our books and records in euros, and we prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB.

CureVac B.V. is a newly formed holding company formed for the purpose of effecting the offering and has not engaged in any activities except those incidental to its formation, the corporate reorganization and the initial public offering of our common shares. CureVac B.V. has no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities and will have no assets, liabilities or contingent liabilities until the completion of our corporate reorganization. Accordingly, summary financial information for CureVac B.V. is not presented. CureVac AG’s consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto, are included elsewhere in this prospectus.

	For the Years Ended December 31,				For the Three Months Ended March 31,
(in thousands of euros, except per share amounts)	2018		2019		2019		2020
					(unaudited)
Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) Data:
Revenue		12,871		17,416		3,156		3,119
Cost of sales		(17,744)		(27,983)		(7,558)		(5,475)
Selling and distribution expenses		(1,085)		(1,755)		(198)		(330)
Research and development expenses		(41,722)		(43,242)		(10,862)		(10,902)
General and administrative expenses		(25,289)		(48,969)		(6,887)		(11,495)
Other operating income		808		5,587		732		1,995
Other operating expenses		(663)		(552)		(108)		(127)
Operating loss		(72,824)		(99,498)		(21,725)		(23,216)
Finance income		1,968		833		649		1,041
Finance expenses		(275)