Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline PLC have signed an agreement to provide up to 300 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to the European Union, the French pharmaceuticals company announced on Friday.
The companies had commenced talks to supply the Covid-19 vaccine to the EU back in July. Sanofi and Glaxo have separately signed agreements with the US and UK governments for supply of the vaccine.
The Covid-19 vaccine, which will be supplied after securing regulatory approval, is based on the recombinant protein-based technology used by Sanofi to produce an influenza vaccine, together with Glaxo’s adjuvant technology.
The contract will allow the purchase of a vaccine against Covid-19 for all member states of the European Union, which may donate reserved doses to lower and middle income countries, Sanofi said. The EU will provide upfront funding to support the scale-up of Sanofi and Glaxo’s manufacturing capabilities.
The antigen and final vaccine doses will be manufactured in European countries at Sanofi and Glaxo’s production sites in Belgium, Italy, Germany and France.
Sanofi and Glaxo had launch the Phase 1/2 clinical study of Covid-19 vaccine earlier in September. A Phase 3 study is planned to begin by the end of 2020 and regulatory approval could be requested by the companies in the first half of 2021.
Glaxo shares were trading 0.6% higher at 1,530.00 pence each on Friday afternoon in London. Sanofi shares were 1.4% higher at EUR89.26 each in Paris.
