Frankfurt: A coronavirus vaccine being developed by Germany's CureVac is facing delays in its late-stage trial as it has been struggling with the wait for enough participants to catch Covid, officials informed on Friday.
CureVac initially expected to seek European approval for its jab in the second quarter, with Germany pencilling in 1.4 million doses by end-June.
But Health Minister Jens Spahn told his regional counterparts the regulatory authorisation is now not expected to come before August, Baden-Wuerttemberg's health minister Manfred Lucha told AFP, confirming earlier reports.
Lucha, whose state is home to CureVac's Tuebingen headquarters, told local media there were "complications" with the trial.
The German government, which has promised to offer all adults a jab by late September, is no longer counting on CureVac to play a role in the current inoculation drive, according to the Mannheimer Morgen daily.
The German health ministry declined to comment further, but said once the vaccine is greenlit "we will include CureVac in the campaign".
Like the highly effective vaccines developed by faster rivals BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna, CureVac's shot is based on novel mRNA technology.
The German firm, founded in 2000 by mRNA pioneer Ingmar Hoerr, announced in interim results late May that independent analysis "found no safety concerns" with its vaccine.
But efficacy results are yet to be published.
To complete its trial, involving about 40,000 volunteers in Europe and Latin America, CureVac needs at least 111 participants to contract the virus.
It had expected to reach the target and seek authorisation in late May or early June, but dwindling infection rates have slowed proceedings.
A CureVac spokeswoman told AFP the company now expects to have collected enough data "by the end of June
