Sanofi and GSK progress talks with EU for 300 million COVID-19 vaccines
Sanofi and GSK are in preliminary talks with the European Commission (EC) on the supply of up to 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine nominee created by Sanofi in collaboration with GSK is established on the recombinant protein-based platform used by Sanofi to manufacture the influenza vaccine on GSK’s proven adjuvant technologies.
300 million COVID-19 vaccines set to be produced in EU countries
The vaccine’s manufacturing process is going to take place in European countries, including France, Belgium, Germany and Italy. This is a crucial step for the European community in combating and preventing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Sanofi Pasteur said:
“Today’s announcement helps to ensure that millions of Europeans will have access to a potential vaccine protecting against COVID-19, once proven safe and effective. It has been our steadfast commitment to provide a vaccine that is affordable and accessible to everyone, and we are grateful to the European Commission for their ongoing engagement and shared support of this effort. Together with GSK, we are working relentlessly to develop and produce a vaccine to address this global health crisis.”
Roger Connor, President of GSK Vaccines added:
“GSK is proud to be working in partnership with Sanofi to make this vaccine available as soon as possible in Europe. Both companies have significant R&D and manufacturing capability in Europe and are already working hard to scale up production across our networks. This announcement from the EC supports our ongoing efforts.”
Up to 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses a year
Sanofi is spearheading the clinical research and approval of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate and plans a Phase 1/2 trial to launch in September, accompanied by a Phase 3 trial by the end of 2020. If the results are accurate, the regulatory licence may be issued by the first half of 2021. Sanofi and GSK are also increasing the output of antigen and adjuvant to generate up to one billion doses a year.
U.S. government to fund 100 million doses
In a separate press release, GSK and Sanofi announced a collaborative effort with the United States government to accelerate the development and manufacturing of the COVID-19 recombinant protein-based vaccine. Under the partnership, the U.S. government is going to provide funding of up to $2.1 billion for development of the vaccine including clinical trials, manufacturing, scale-up and delivery of an initial 100 million doses.
Global access to GSK and Sanofi’s COVID-19 vaccine
Sanofi and GSK remain dedicated to providing vaccinations accessible internationally. Both companies have recently concluded negotiations with the United States, through which they share a long-standing relationship with the Biomedical Clinical Research and Development Agency and now with the United Kingdom Government. The participants intend to offer a substantial portion of the overall global procurement potential available in 2021/22 to the national “Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator” programme, a strategic partnership between policy officials, public health organisations, companies and philanthropists to promote growth, output and equal access to COVID-19 studies, treatments and vaccinations. GSK is committed to tackling COVID-19 and partners with businesses and study groups around the world on potential vaccine candidates through the use of the companies proprietory groundbreaking adjuvant vaccine technology. The implementation of an Adjuvant is of great significance in a pandemic scenario because it could minimise the amount of vaccine protein needed per dose, helping more vaccine doses to be manufactured and thus lead to the safety of more citizens. GSK says it does not plan to gain financial benefit from COVID-19 vaccines during the Coronavirus pandemic and will spend any short-term income on coronavirus focused research and long-term pandemic preparedness, either by GSK’s own activities or through international collaborators.
About GSK
GSK is a science-led multinational healthcare organisation with a specific purpose: to enable people achieve more, to live healthier, more comfortable, and to live longer.
For more information, please visit www.gsk.com.
About Sanofi
Sanofi is a global biopharmaceutical company devoted to human health, which works to prevent diseases by creating novel vaccine prophylactic and offering groundbreaking therapies to cure and relieve suffering. The company is dedicated to empowering people through helping their wellbeing. Sanofi stands by the few who suffer from rare diseases and the millions who have long-term chronic conditions. With more than 100,000 employees in 100 cities, Sanofi is turning clinical research into healthcare innovations worldwide.
For more information please visit www.sanofi.com.
