Sanofi and GSK launch coronavirus vaccine collaboration

Sanofi and  GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are pooling resources to create a vaccine for COVID-19, in what they call an “unprecedented” collaboration between the two pharma companies.

A joint statement said an adjuvanted vaccine for the virus was expected to enter clinical trials later this year and could be available in the second half of 2021.

Adjuvants are ingredients added to vaccines to boost the body’s immune response, meaning a lower dose of the vaccine is required to achieve immunisation.

The project will utilise Sanofi’s recombinant DNA technology, which it says has produced an “exact genetic match” to proteins found on the surface of the coronavirus.

This S-protein antigen, referring to the ‘spikes’ found on the surface of the virus’, will be combined with GSK’s adjuvant technology to produce a vaccine, the companies said.

“As the world faces this unprecedented global health crisis, it is clear that no one company can go it alone,” said Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson.

“That is why Sanofi is continuing to complement its expertise and resources with our peers, such as GSK, with the goal to create and supply sufficient quantities of vaccines that will help stop this virus,” Hudson added.

Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK, said: “By combining our science and our technologies, we believe we can help accelerate the global effort to develop a vaccine to protect as many people as possible from COVID-19.”

The collaboration is just the latest between different companies in the race to find a COVID-19 vaccine, which is proceeding with unprecedented speed.

Earlier this month, Sanofi announced a  separate deal with a US biotechnology company to produce a vaccine, while  GSK joined forces with China’s Clover Biopharmaceuticals in February.

Several candidates are already in human trials, but even at this pace, it is believed a vaccine will not be available until next year at the earliest.