GSK and Sanofi in talks to supply 300m vaccine doses to EU

GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi said they were in advanced talks with the European Commission to supply up to 300m doses of a Covid-19 vaccine

The companies said the vaccine candidate was developed by Sanofi in partnership with GSK and is based on Sanofi technology used to produce an influenza vaccine and GSK's adjuvant technology.

The doses would be produced in European countries such as France, Belgium, Germany and Italy with regulatory approval possible in the first half of 2021. The companies' statement confirmed an announcement by the commission on Friday.

Roger Connor, president of GSK Vaccines, said: "GSK is proud to be working in partnership with Sanofi to make this vaccine available as soon as possible in Europe. Both companies have significant R&D and manufacturing capability in Europe and are already working hard to scale up production across our networks. This announcement from the EC supports our ongoing efforts."

The British and French drug companies signed a deal with the US government on Friday for Washington to provide $2.1bn to speed up development and manufacturing of the vaccine.

Sanofi expects a Phase 1/2 study of the vaccine to start in September with a Phase 3 study by the end of 2020. If results are positive the vaccine could receive regulatory approval by the first half of 2021, the companies said. GSK and Sanofi are planning to produce more than 1bn doses a year and make the vaccine available globally.