Pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GSK will make 200 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine available to a global procurement scheme.
Covid Vaccine
The companies have signed a Statement of Intent with Gavi to supply the vaccine to the Covax Facility – a global risk-sharing mechanism designed to equitably distribute eventual Covid-19 vaccines.
Sanofi and GSK have initiated a Phase 1/2 study of their adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine which includes a total of 440 volunteers. The companies expect the first results in December and are aiming to initiate a Phase 3 study before the end of the year.
Sanofi and GSK will make 200 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine available to the Covax Facility, if it is approved by regulatory authorities.
Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president and global head of Sanofi Pasteur, said: “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. 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.”
The Covax Facility was set up between the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, in an effort to “ensure fair allocation of vaccine supply”. The collaboration hopes to be able fund 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by 2021.
Covax was launched in April as one of three pillars of the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The ACT was set up by WHO, the European Commission and France to provide innovative and equitable access to Covid-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. As part of Covax, 92 middle and lower-income countries that cannot fully afford to pay for Covid-19 vaccines get equal access as higher-income countries, at the same time. This is being ensured through a key funding target of $2 billion.
Roger Connor, president of GSK Vaccines said: “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.”