Last update: May 27, 2021
Throughout the ongoing pandemic, Sanofi has joined forces to fight COVID-19 in every way possible. This includes developing two vaccine candidates to help prevent and control COVID-19.
"Despite multiple vaccines becoming available, there remain vast global health needs further exasperated by the unpredictability of virus variants. Sanofi is continuing to complement its expertise and resources with that of our peers to help prevent and control the pandemic over the long term."
Paul Hudson, CEO Sanofi
For over a century, vaccines have been a pillar of medical care. Every vaccine developed to date is based upon the same fundamental principle: by teaching our immune systems to recognize a pathogen and destroy it, we can help protect our bodies from infectious diseases. Sanofi scientists are building on this principle, using both proven and new technologies to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The adjuvanted recombinant protein vaccine candidate in collaboration with the US BARDA uses Sanofi’s recombinant protein manufacturing platform together with GSK’s pandemic adjuvant platform.
The mRNA vaccine candidate in partnership with Translate Bio uses novel messenger RNA technology.
Sanofi's two vaccine candidates
"All our decisions are and will always be driven by science and data. We remain confident and committed to developing and manufacturing safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines."
Thomas Triomphe, Executive Vice President and Head of Sanofi Pasteur
Scaling up manufacturing capabilities
Sanofi is increasing its manufacturing capabilities to be able to quickly deliver large quantities of future vaccines to meet global demand.
“The company is working across multiple countries and in coordination with partner manufacturing sites to make vaccines at the extremely large scales required by the pandemic. The manufacturing process is a complex, never-ending job, but our aim is to supply vaccines to as many people as possible,” said Vincent Hingot, Head of Vaccine Industrial Affairs.
Supply agreements have been made with several countries and the company will also supply to the COVAX Facility, a collaboration led by the WHO and GAVI, which aims to secure successful and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
While Sanofi’s utmost priority is to continue to develop its two COVID-19 vaccine candidates, the company has begun to support manufacturing and supply of BioNTech’s approved COVID-19 vaccine, co-developed with Pfizer,the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson, and the vaccine developed by Moderna.
This marks Sanofi’s commitment to use its manufacturing capability to support the global supply of COVID-19 vaccines and help meet current public health needs.
Reality safety check
While the urgency of developing an effective vaccine cannot be ignored, Sanofi’s top priority is safety. Our CEO, Paul Hudson, pledged with eight other biopharma CEOs to develop potential vaccines in accordance with high ethical standards and sound scientific principles regarding clinical trials and manufacturing processes. Only vaccines that have passed an approved phase 3 trial will be submitted for approval or emergency-use authorization, a pledge that “will help ensure public confidence in the rigorous scientific and regulatory process by which COVID-19 vaccines are evaluated and may ultimately be approved. Our work, as always, is driven by science and our sense of responsibility,” said Paul. Solidarity is key to moving the fight against COVID-19 forward and, in time, to establishing a blueprint for collaboration and preparation for future pandemics.
