Sanofi, GSK sign agreement to make vaccine candidate available to COVAX

Sanofi and GSK have signed an agreement with Gavi, the legal administrator of the COVAX Facility, to make available 200 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, if approved by regulators, to the COVAX Facility.

“To address a global health crisis of this magnitude, it takes unique partnerships. The commitment we are announcing today for the COVAX Facility can help us together stand a better chance of bringing the pandemic under control,” Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president and global head of Sanofi Pasteur, said. “This moment also reflects our long-term commitment to global health and ensures our COVID-19 vaccines are affordable and accessible to those most at risk, everywhere in the world.”

COVAX, a global collaboration of governments, global health organizations, businesses, and philanthropic organizations, focuses on accelerating the development and production of COVID-19. More than 180 countries and economies recently signed onto the COVAX Facility to get timely and cost-effective access to vaccines.

“Since we started working on the development of COVID-19 vaccines, GSK has pledged to make them available to people around the world. We are proud to be working with Sanofi to make this adjuvanted recombinant protein-based vaccine available to the countries signed up to the COVAX Facility as soon as possible – this has the potential to be a significant contribution to the global fight against COVID-19,” Roger Connor, president of GSK Vaccines, said.

The COVAX Facility is designed to ensure that people in all parts of the world will get access to COVID-19 vaccines once they are available.

Sanofi and GSK initiated a Phase 1/2 study of its vaccine candidate on Sept. 3, with a total of 440 subjects enrolled. The companies anticipate the first results in early December 2020 to support a Phase 3 study before the end of the year. If all goes well, the companies plan to request regulatory approval in the first half of 2021.