New Sanofi vaccine is 100 per cent effective against severe Covid

A new vaccine has been developed that is 100 per cent effective against severe Covid and hospitalisation. It is now seeking approval overseas.

French pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi and its British partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will “seek regulatory authorisation” for a new Covid-19 vaccine in the United States and the European Union.

Sanofi said on Wednesday its vaccine had delivered positive results after phase 3 trials involving thousands of people.

The trials indicated that the vaccine was 100 per cent effective against severe Covid disease and hospitalisation, Sanofi said in a statement.

It was also more than 50 per cent effective against all symptomatic Covid, the statement added.

Sanofi vice-president for vaccines Thomas Triomphe said the data was “similar to the recent clinical data from authorised vaccines”.

Mr Triomphe also emphasised no other phase 3 study “has been undertaken during this period with so many variants of concern, including Omicron”.

The announcement of the positive trials – which have not yet been released as is normal practice – puts the vaccine on the last hurdle before a possible market launch.

Sanofi’s share price rose nearly 1.5 per cent on the Paris stock exchange at midday.

The French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced on February 23 positive results on a large scale for its anti-Covid vaccine, developed with the British company GSK. Picture: Joel Saget/AFP

Wounded French pride

If the vaccine receives authorisation, it will mark the end of Sanofi’s long struggle to develop a Covid vaccine following numerous setbacks.

The French firm originally hoped to announce such results by mid-2021. But the date was pushed back by six months due to a dosing error, then late last year was delayed again after difficulties finding people who had never been infected with Covid to take part in the trials.

The delays – and the renowned Pasteur Institute abandoning plans to develop its own vaccine in early 2021 – dented the pride of a country that considers itself a leader on pharmaceutical technology.

Sanofi also abandoned a previous vaccine project based on the mRNA technology used by its quicker rivals Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, whose jabs have formed the backbone of vaccination efforts in many countries.

Sanofi is now focused on a vaccine using a slightly less innovative technique based on recombinant protein technology, also seen in the Novavax jab.

There are hopes that Sanofi’s jab could appeal more to unvaccinated people who remain sceptical of mRNA technology, despite the reams of evidence on its effectiveness.

GlaxoSmithKline vaccines head Roger Connor said in the statement that the jab “uses a well-established approach that has been applied widely to prevent infection with other viruses including pandemic flu”.

The EU has already pre-ordered millions of doses of the vaccine, and Sanofi is likely to play a role in booster campaigns around the world.

And with many countries – particularly in the developing world – struggling to vaccinate their population, there is likely still a market for newer vaccines.