Sanofi, GSK delay Covid-19 vaccine as effectiveness falls short
WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline said they need to study if a retooled version of their Covid-19 vaccine candidate can produce better results among older people, delaying its potential availability to the end of next year.
The companies will begin a new second-phase study with an improved product in February after they said tests failed to induce a strong enough immune response in people 50 years and older. That means it would potentially reach the market in the fourth quarter of 2021 rather than the middle of the year.
The results are a setback in the world’s efforts to develop inoculations against a disease that has already claimed more than 1.5 million lives.
Britain and Canada have already approved a shot from Pfizer and BioNTech that employs messenger RNA technology, and the United States and Europe may do so soon. China and Russia have already begun administering their own vaccinations.
This particular candidate relies on recombinant DNA technology that Sanofi uses to make influenza shots, along with Glaxo’s adjuvants, which enhance the body’s immune response. The companies previously said they expected to produce as many as one billion doses in 2021.
Sanofi has another mRNA shot for Covid in development and GSK is involved in a handful of other vaccine collaborations for Covid-19.
The companies, among the world’s most experienced at making vaccines, said the new Phase 2b study will include a head-to-head comparison with an already approved Covid-19 vaccine, and could lead to a global Phase 3 study as of the second quarter of 2021.
The biggest orders for the vaccine include the European Union, which has agreed to buy 300 million doses, and the US, which is purchasing 100 million with an option for more.
Source: Read Full Article
