Paris (AFP)
The French laboratory Sanofi published on Monday positive results of a clinical trial on its main candidate vaccine against Covid-19, developed with the British GSK, after a setback that had caused several months of delay.
The interim results of this phase 2 human trial show that administration of this vaccine "induced the production of high concentrations of neutralizing antibodies in adults of all age groups at levels comparable to those of observed in people who had recovered from an infection "Covid, details the laboratory in a press release on Monday.
A phase 3 study, the very last in humans before the potential authorization of this vaccine based on recombinant protein, should start in the coming weeks, specifies Sanofi, which will launch production in parallel.
This study will evaluate two formulations of the vaccine, in particular against the Wuhan variants and the South African variant, the group said.
During phase 2 of the trials, the vaccine candidate was only tested on the Wuhan variant.
In detail, the interim results show seroconversion (the production of antibodies) in 95% to 100% of cases, after administration of a second dose, in all age groups (18 to 95 years) and for all the doses studied.
Furthermore, in participants who had previously been infected with Covid-19, a single dose of the vaccine produced the production of high concentrations of neutralizing antibodies, "which underlines the strong potential interest represented by its development for booster vaccination. ", says Sanofi.
A first study on humans had concluded at the end of 2020 to an insufficient immune response.
The laboratory had in the process had to postpone a potential launch to the 4th quarter of 2021, while it initially expected the middle of the year.
This delay had sparked controversy in France, the unions of the laboratory pointing the finger at some 400 job cuts planned in the research.
Several other laboratories and biotechs have already launched their own vaccines.
In Europe, those of the American-German tandem Pfizer-BioNTech, the Americans Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and the British AstraZeneca are already on the market.
Sanofi is also developing a second vaccine candidate with the American company Translate Bio, based on the more recent messenger RNA technology (used by the vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna).
At the same time, the group has made agreements with other manufacturers, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna, to help them bottle their vaccines.
© 2021 AFP