The French Sanofi and Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline announced the upcoming Phase III of their experimental vaccine
According to Sanofi, the vaccine
showed a robust immune response in early-stage clinical trials results, which
allows them to move to a late-stage study. A global Phase III could start in
the coming weeks, involving over 35,000 adults. The companies hope for the
vaccine to be approved by the fourth quarter, later than initially planned.
The announcement comes after, in
December, Sanofi and GSK had to restart the trial after the vaccine showed a
low immune response in older adults as a result of a weak antigen formulation.
Su-Peing Ng, Sanofi’s global head
of medical for vaccines, revealed that during Phase III, the vaccine would also
be tested against various strains of COVID-19, including the lineage detected
in South Africa. Moreover, the shot could be used as a potential booster, no
matter of what vaccine someone might have received beforehand.
So far, Sanofi has purchasing
agreements with the US, EU, Britain, Canada, and with COVAX – a World Health
Organization-backed facility.
At the moment of writing, Sanofi
stock price is trading 0.91% higher, while GSK is up 0.83%.
Source: reuters.com