Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline are in advanced discussions with the European Commission for the supply of up to 300 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The vaccine candidate is being jointly developed by Sanofi and GSK – it is based on the recombinant protein-based technology used by Sanofi to produce its influenza vaccine and GSK’s adjuvant technology.
According to Sanofi, the doses would be manufactured in European countries including France, Belgium, Germany and Italy.
Sanofi is also leading the clinical development and registration of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and expects a phase 1/2 study to begin in September and a phase 3 study to commence by the end of 2020.
If all goes to plan in these studies and the vaccine is effective, Sanofi and GSK could achieve regulatory approval by the first half of 2021.
The companies have also recently signed agreements with the US and UK governments for ensured access to the potential vaccine.
Sanofi and GSK are also planning to provide a portion of the total worldwide supply capacity in 2021/22 to the global initiative ‘Access to COVID‐19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator’.
This global collaboration aims to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
“This announcement helps to ensure that millions of Europeans will have access to a potential vaccine protecting against COVID-19, once proven safe and effective,” said Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Sanofi Pasteur.
“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,” he added.
