Coronavirus vaccine developer CureVac raises $213.3 million in U.S. IPO

CureVac BV said on Friday it raised $213.3 million in its initial public offering in New York, setting the stage for the first stock market debut of a company developing a potential vaccine to combat the coronavirus.

The German biotechnology firm, backed by Microsoft Corp founder and billionaire Bill Gates, sold 13.33 million shares at $16 apiece, the top end of its indicated price range of between $14 and $16 per share.

CureVac is researching how to use messenger RNA to treat a series of diseases, including the coronavirus. It is an experimental approach that has also been adopted by some of its peers, including Moderna Inc and BioNTech SE.

Bank of America, Jefferies, and Credit Suisse are lead underwriters on the IPO. CureVac shares are due to start trading on Nasdaq on Friday under the symbol ‘CVAC’.