European drugmakers Sanofi and GSK strike $2.1 billion deal with U.S. for a coronavirus vaccine

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Fri, 2020-07-31 09:15 — mike kraft

European drugmakers Sanofi and GSK strike $2.1 billion deal with U.S. for a coronavirus vaccine The contract is the largest yet from the U.S. government. Carolyn Y. Johnson Washington Post

The federal government announced a $2.1 billion deal Friday with the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and its British partner, GSK, to support the development of a coronavirus vaccine the companies are working on together.

The contract — the largest one yet from the U.S. government — includes the delivery of 100 million doses for the United States and is part of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s initiative to speed development of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for the coronavirus. The companies reached an agreement earlier in the week to provide 60 million doses to the United Kingdom.

The first human testing of the experimental vaccine is expected to begin in September, with larger trials to test its effectiveness due to launch before year’s end. The companies anticipate having enough data to seek a regulatory decision in the first half of 2021 and plan to manufacture 1 billion doses per year.

The contract, which includes the option for the United States to buy an additional 500 million doses, includes support for clinical development of the vaccine and an advance purchase agreement. The U.S. government has committed billions of dollars to companies to lessen the financial risks of manufacturing vaccines before drugmakers know whether they work.

“The portfolio of vaccines being assembled for Operation Warp Speed increases the odds that we will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

The United States also has spent billions of dollars to support the development of vaccines, or the pre-purchasing of doses, from Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

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