* 150 mln eur deal to develop next-generation vaccines
* GSK to also help produce 100 mln doses of CureVac's
vaccine
* GSK has suffered setbacks in COVID-19 vaccine development
(Adds background)
FRANKFURT, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Britain's GlaxoSmithKline
and German biotech firm CureVac struck a 150
million euro ($180 million) deal to develop next-generation
vaccines against COVID-19 that target several variants in one
product.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the partners said they
were targeting a possible launch in 2022.
GSK, which holds a stake in CureVac, will also support the
production of up to 100 million doses of CureVac's first
generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate in 2021, they said.
For GSK, the world's largest vaccine maker by sales, it
marks a fresh attempt to play a relevant role in fighting the
pandemic after a COVID-19 alliance with Sanofi was
hobbled by development delays and after a similar collaboration
with China's Clover Biopharmaceuticals was ended.
($1 = 0.8308 euros)
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Thomas Seythal and
Kirsti Knolle)