On Wednesday, Sanofi and GSK, together, signed an agreement with the UK to supply up to 60 million units of potential coronavirus vaccine. The company is also in talks with other nations for further supply. However, no financial number is revealed by any party.
Sanofi and GSK, which came together in April this year, posted that the official approval of the COVID vaccines is hoped to be attained by the first half of next year if everything goes in favour. The vaccine is supposed to be developed after using GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) adjuvant technology and Sanofi’s S-protein corona antigen. Adjuvant, which GSK will supply, are power boosters which are supposed to increase the efficiency of a vaccine and generate a much lasting and strong immunity against the virus as compared to a vaccine alone.
Until now, no vaccine is approved for treating coronavirus but many are in different stages of trials. GSK and Sanofi’s vaccine will go for their first phase trial in September and the final third trial in December on humans.
The companies are in talks with several other nations for the supply for vaccine too including Italy, France, and European Union. The reports say that the company is trying to crack a deal with the EU to supply around 300 million vaccine units.
Some sources also reveal that the deal did not go well between both the companies and EU as the pharma firm wanted all payment in advance for doses but the Union wanted to delay remittances until the drug passes primary tests.
Now, the British administration has signed deals within a total of four vaccine companies for potential COVID cure drugs for 250 million doses, combined.
If the starting treatments happen to be positive, the UK might start giving vaccines to priority groups, like the persons at high risk from virus or the frontline workers like doctors and social workers.
The stocks of both the companies, i.e. Sanofi and GSK, are supposed to go up as the hopes of virus drug by them paves the way.