Trump Tried To Lure CureVac, German Company Working On Coronavirus Vaccine, With Lucrative Exclusive Contract For U.S.

Germany is trying to stop the U.S. from luring away a company working on a coronavirus vaccine, with politicians arguing that no country should hold a monopoly on any future vaccine.

The Welt am Sonntag German newspaper reported that President Donald Trump had offered to pay CureVac to move their research to the U.S. and that the German government was making counter-offers.

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A German Health Ministry spokeswoman confirmed a quote in the Welt am Soontag story, “The German government is very interested in ensuring that vaccines and active substances against the new coronavirus are also developed in Germany and Europe.”

She added, “In this regard, the government is in intensive exchange with the company CureVac.”

The story alleged that Trump was trying to secure the vaccine, but would only make it accessible to the U.S.

Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany claimed on Twitter that “the Welt story was wrong.”

CureVac denied “any rumors of an acquisition” in a statement Sunday.

CureVac’s top investor Dietmar Hopp told Reuters he was not selling and wanted to “help people not just regionally but in solidarity across the world.” He continued, “I would be glad if this could be achieved through my long-term investments out of Germany.”

The Germany-based company hopes to have an experimental vaccine ready by June or July which can then begin to be tested on humans.

Article by Katherine Huggins