CureVac N.V., a global biopharmaceutical company, has announced that after more than 10 years as a member of the CureVac management board and three years as CEO, Dr. Franz Haas will step down as CEO, effective March 31, 2023. Dr. Alexander Zehnder will succeed Dr. Haas, joining from Sanofi on April 1, 2023.
 
“The recent clinical validation of the power of CureVac’s proprietary mRNA-technology platform represents an important inflection point to start turning the company into a relevant commercial player. We are therefore excited to welcome Alexander Zehnder at CureVac who brings extensive senior leadership experience from global companies such as Sanofi and Roche to the table. Over the course of his international career Alexander has significantly contributed to the commercial launch of practice-changing medicines. I am convinced that Alexander is ideally positioned to take CureVac to the next level as a relevant commercial player,” said Jean Stéphenne, chairman of the CureVac Supervisory Board.
 
“It is both an honor and a truly exciting to join the global CureVac team. I am fascinated by opportunities that mRNA technology can provide for patients across multiple therapeutic areas, and I am inspired by CureVac’s potential,” said Dr. Alexander Zehnder. “I look forward to working with CureVac’s dedicated team to build an even greater company for the benefit of patients and all stakeholders.”
 
“Franz has played an essential role in shaping the company over the last decade and most impressively since he took over as CEO in April 2020 during the challenging times at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jean Stéphenne. “Under Franz’s exceptional leadership, the company weathered unprecedented challenges and significantly increased its maturity. On behalf of the entire supervisory board, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Franz for his dedication and tireless commitment.”
 
“It has been a great privilege to have served as CEO of a company that pioneered mRNA technology and contributed profoundly to its deployment in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Franz-Werner Haas. “I am immensely proud of what we have built together and how CureVac’s outstanding RNA people came together as a team to develop transformative medicines to protect and improve people’s lives. With our recently reported platform validation we are entering a new chapter in CureVac’s development, which marks a natural transition for me. CureVac is stronger than ever as I hand over to Alexander Zehnder. His expertise will add a lot to shape the future success of CureVac.”