Sanofi and GSK announce delay in development of COVID-19 vaccine until end of 2021

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi and British company GSK on Friday announced the COVID-19 vaccine they are jointly developing might not be rolled out until the end of 2021. This comes as a huge setback not just for the companies but for the world as a whole, which is relentlessly fighting the pandemic since the start of this year. Sanofi and GSK said that the interim trial results from the study showed a lower immune response in older patients as compared to other participants aged between 18 and 49. 

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"We care greatly about public health which is why we are disappointed by the delay announced today, but all our decisions are and will always be driven by science and data. We have identified the path forward and remain confident and committed to bringing a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine. Following these results and the latest encouraging new preclinical data, we will now work to further optimize our candidate to achieve this goal," Thomas Triomphe, Head of Sanofi Pasteur said in a statement. 

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Stakeholders informed

The companies said that they will start a Phase 2b study in February next year and if data are positive, a global Phase 3 study could start in Q2 of 2021. Sanofi and GSK said that the results from the study will be then submitted to regulators in the second half of 2021. The companies have said that they have informed about the development to governments and the European Commission, which has signed an agreement with them regarding purchase. The United States government has also invested in the companies for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine under its Operation Warp Speed programme. 

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"The results of the study are not as we hoped. Based on previous experience and other collaborations, we are confident that GSK’s pandemic adjuvant system, when coupled with a COVID-19 antigen, can elicit a robust immune response with an acceptable reactogenicity profile. It is also clear that multiple vaccines will be needed to contain the pandemic. Our aim now is to work closely with our partner Sanofi to develop this vaccine, with an improved antigen formulation, for it to make a meaningful contribution to preventing COVID-19," Roger Connor, President of GSK Vaccines said in a statement.

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