PARIS (Reuters) – A COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Sanofi and the US group Translate Bio “won’t be ready this year,” the CEO of the French drug manufacturer told Le Journal du Dimanche.
Clinical trials of this vaccine, which will be based on a technology known as mRNA – on which lean approved vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna – are expected to begin this quarter.
In December last year, Sanofi had said it was targeting the “earliest possible approval” of the shot in the second half of 2021, following positive preclinical data.
“This vaccine won’t be ready this year, but it could be all the more helpful at a later stage if the fight against variants continues,” said Paul Hudson.
The CEO did not provide any other details. Officials at Sanofi were not available for comment.
The news could mean another blow to Sanofi, who has already been delayed fighting for another COVID-19 vaccine candidate who hopes to bring it to patients and for which the company is partnering with UK-based GlaxoSmithKline.
The two groups stunned investors last year by warning that their traditional protein-based COVID-19 shot showed an insufficient immune response in older people, delaying launch by the end of 2021.
To appease critics, Sanofi said last month it agreed to fill and pack millions of doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine starting in July.
According to a Reuters report, 108 million people worldwide have reportedly been infected with the novel coronavirus and more than 2.4 million have died since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
Countries around the world have embarked on massive vaccination programs since the beginning of the year, with mixed results, and are now facing the emergence of several varieties of strains forcing them to move even faster.
Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Dominique Vidalon