Sanofi Halts mRNA COVID Vaccine Development

Sanofi, the French drug maker has dropped the development of its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. The company now aims to use the same technology for the development of vaccines for other diseases including flu.

Sanofi, the French drug maker has dropped the development of its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. The company now aims to use the same technology for the development of vaccines for other diseases including flu.

The Covid vaccine co-developed with its British partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had shown strong rates of neutralising antibody responses against the infectious Coronavirus disease in the Phase-II trial.

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The results of Phase-II trial, released in May this year showed 95 per cent to 100 per cent seroconversion following a second injection, while a single jab produced high neutralising antibody levels among people with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting the vaccine's strong potential for development as a booster shot. Together with GSK, Sanofi had aimed to produce up to one billion doses in 2021.

"Taking into account public health needs and given sufficient mRNA Covid-19 vaccines supply can be expected going forward, we have decided not to pursue the development of our Covid-19 mRNA candidate into a Phase 3 clinical study," the company said in a statement.

"We will focus our mRNA resources in our newly created mRNA Center of Excellence to address future pandemics and other infectious diseases and therapeutics where there is a strong unmet need," it added.

For the new study, Sanofi on September 14 acquired Translate Bio -- a clinical-stage biotechnology company that specialises in mRNA therapies. The two teams had worked closely together since 2018 to design and develop a messenger RNA (mRNA) technology platform for vaccines.

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The platform is the basis for an array of innovations to fight multiple pathogens. The newly combined R&D teams are now focused on the launch of our mRNA Center of Excellence which aims to unlock the potential of next-generation mRNA vaccines and other strategic areas such as immunology, oncology, and rare diseases, the company said.

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In December, last year, the Sanofi-GSK faced a major setback after their experimental Covid-19 vaccine did not appear to work well in older adults.

Source-IANS

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