Sanofi Moves Ahead With One COVID-19 Vaccine, Expands Research Into Others 

Sanofi has progressed faster than anticipated with a COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), according to the company’s CEO.

Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said the recombinant vaccine, which is using a GSK adjuvant, is expected to enter a phase 1/2 study in September and could receive full approval by the first half of next year, faster than previously predicted.

Hudson said the Swiss drugmaker currently has the manufacturing capacity to produce up to 1 billion doses of the vaccine per year.

The drugmaker has also expanded an agreement with Massachusetts-based Translate Bio, building on a previously established collaboration to develop messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Under the expanded arrangement, Translate Bio will receive $425 million upfront and will be eligible for $1.9 billion for meeting certain milestones in addition to royalties on future sales. The deal also gives Sanofi exclusive worldwide rights to vaccines developed with Translate Bio’s mRNA platform.

The two companies are evaluating multiple COVID-19 vaccine candidates and they aim to begin a first-in-human trial of a selected mRNA candidate in the fourth quarter.

Sanofi anticipates being able to supply 90 million to 360 million doses of the two companies’ mRNA vaccine candidate annually, Hudson said. — James Miessler