Sanofi and GSK Announce Unprecedented Vaccine Collaboration to Fight COVID-19

Sanofi S.A. (Paris, France) and GlaxoSmithKline plc (London, UK) have entered into a collaboration to develop an adjuvanted vaccine for COVID-19, using innovative technology from both companies, to help address the ongoing pandemic. In addition to Sanofi, GSK is also collaborating with the University of Queensland, Clover Biopharmaceuticals and Xiamen Innovax Biotech Co., Ltd. as it hopes to develop a number of successful vaccines with its pandemic adjuvant technology.

The combination of a protein-based antigen together with an adjuvant, is well-established and used in a number of vaccines available today. An adjuvant is added to some vaccines to enhance the immune response, and has been shown to create a stronger and longer lasting immunity against infections than the vaccine alone. It can also improve the likelihood of delivering an effective vaccine that can be manufactured at scale. The use of an adjuvant can be of particular importance in a pandemic situation since it may reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose, allowing more vaccine doses to be produced and therefore contributing to protect more people.

GSK will contribute its proven pandemic adjuvant technology to the collaboration, while Sanofi will contribute its S-protein COVID-19 antigen, which is based on recombinant DNA technology. This technology has produced an exact genetic match to proteins found on the surface of the virus, and the DNA sequence encoding this antigen has been combined into the DNA of the baculovirus expression platform, the basis of Sanofi’s licensed recombinant influenza product in the US. The companies plan to initiate phase I clinical trials in the second half of 2020 and, if successful and subject to regulatory considerations, aim to complete the development required for availability by the second half of 2021.

The development of the recombinant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate is being supported through funding and collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), in the US. The companies plan to discuss funding support with other governments and global institutions prioritizing global access. The companies have set up a Joint Collaboration Task Force, co-chaired by David Loew, Global Head of Vaccines, Sanofi and Roger Connor, President Vaccines, GSK. The taskforce will seek to mobilize resources from both companies to look for every opportunity to accelerate the development of the candidate vaccine.

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

“This collaboration brings two of the world’s largest vaccines companies together. 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,” said Emma Walmsley, CEO GSK.

“Strategic alliances among vaccine industry leaders are essential to make a coronavirus vaccine available as soon as possible. Development of the adjuvanted recombinant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate holds the potential to lower the vaccine dose to provide vaccine to a greater number of people to end this pandemic, and help the world become better prepared or even prevent future coronavirus outbreaks,” said BARDA Director, Rick A. Bright, Ph.D.