GSK Back In Covid-19 Vaccination Race, Vaccine Candidate Jointly Developed By GSK-Sanofi Reports Success In Phase 2 Trial

GlaxoSmithKline's hope to rejoin the race to vaccinate the world against COVID-19 received a boost after the vaccine candidate the company has jointly developed with French pharmaceutical major Sanofi demonstrated strong immune responses in all adult age groups in preliminary trials, AP reported

After two doses of the vaccine candidate, participants showed neutralising antibodies in line with those found in people who had recovered from the disease, according to results of the Phase 2 trial released on Monday.

The results were from a Phase 2 trial involving 722 volunteers aged 18 to 95 who were recruited in the US and Honduras.

The companies said they plan to begin late-stage trials and production in the coming weeks and hope to win regulatory approval for the vaccine before the end of 2021. The late-stage trial will involve about 37,000 participants from countries around the world, the companies said.

The vaccine suffered a major setback last December, when the companies announced that their joint vaccine candidate did not appear to work well in older adults and that they would have to delay plans to test it in a Phase 3 trial, the crucial test that will assess the vaccine’s effectiveness.

The Sanofi-GSK vaccine was an important part of the European Union's vaccination strategy, and had notably been championed by French President Emmanuel Macron's government. Sanofi’s failure was viewed in France as the decline of country’s scientific prowess.

Sanofi and GSK’s vaccine was one of six selected for funding from Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to accelerate vaccine development