Sanofi to Work on Developing New Coronavirus Vaccine

In collaboration to accelerate the discovery of a COVID-19 vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur will leverage previous SARS vaccine research conducted by the company. Sanofi is partnering with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, to develop a new coronavirus vaccine. The company will utilize its established recombinant technology platform to accelerate work on COVID-19 vaccine candidates. COVID-19 belongs to the coronavirus family, which can cause respiratory disease. In late 2002, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), a coronavirus that emerged at that time, largely disappeared by 2004. Sanofi will now conduct research on an advanced preclinical SARS vaccine candidate it previously developed, with the aim of providing protection against COVID-19. David Loew, President of Sanofi Global Vaccines, commented on the matter: "We will demonstrate joint effort on the latest coronavirus causing a current global health threat, which is why we are working with BARDA to rapidly develop a potential vaccine candidate. In this collaboration, where we are contributing all our experience and expertise, we believe we can achieve the most meaningful results with BARDA in protecting people from this latest outbreak."  

Sanofi's innovative recombinant technology platform

Sanofi will use a recombinant DNA platform in its work to produce a new coronavirus vaccine candidate. Recombinant technology can provide perfect genetic matching with proteins found on the virus surface. The DNA sequence encoding this antigen will be incorporated into the DNA of the baculovirus expression platform, which forms the basis of Sanofi's licensed recombinant influenza vaccine; it will be used to rapidly produce large quantities of coronavirus antigen formulated to stimulate the immune system for protection against the virus.   Dr. Rick A. Bright, Director of BARDA, commented on the work: "Emerging global health threats such as the new coronavirus require a rapid response. By expanding our existing collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur and leveraging their licensed recombinant vaccine platform, we aim to accelerate work on vaccine candidates to be developed for protection against the new virus" he said.

Sanofi's position in coronavirus vaccine development work is significant

A SARS vaccine candidate that achieved immunogenicity and partial protection in animals was developed as a result of preclinical studies by Protein Sciences, acquired by Sanofi in 2017. The work from that period is expected to provide a starting point for accelerating COVID-19 vaccine development. As the vaccine resulting from current work will be a platform-based licensed vaccine, it will allow for relatively rapid production of existing research and materials for clinical testing. Sanofi Pasteur's recombinant technology platform has the potential to produce large quantities of vaccine candidates. Emin Turan, Sanofi Pasteur Turkey and Eurasia Regional Head, commented on the matter as follows: "Sanofi Pasteur is the world's largest company focused solely on human vaccines. We work with a vision of a world where no one suffers from vaccine-preventable diseases. The motivation for our work is to protect people from infectious diseases by producing safe and effective vaccines. Each year we provide more than one billion doses of vaccines to people around the world, while improving our existing vaccines for a healthier future on one hand, and on the other hand seeking to expand the benefits of vaccination to cover new infectious diseases. Throughout the years behind us, our focus has always been on carrying out activities that respond to people's needs for a healthy future. We have always fought against vaccine-preventable diseases and will continue to do so, and the efforts we will demonstrate jointly with BARDA to develop an effective vaccine against COVID-19 are a testament to this."