EU Agrees to Buy Potential Sanofi, GSK Covid-19 Vaccine -- Update

-The European Commission has agreed to buy Sanofi and GSK's potential Covid-19 vaccine

-EU member states will be able to purchase up to 300 million doses of the vaccine

-Sanofi and GSK aim to have the vaccine available by the second half of 2021

By Mauro Orru and Giulia Petroni

The European Commission said Friday that it has signed a contract with Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline PLC to secure up to 300 million doses of their potential Covid-19 vaccine.

The commission, the EU's executive arm, didn't disclose financial details but said the contract marks the second deal the EU has struck for the supply of vaccines against coronavirus, following a deal it already signed with British drug maker AstraZeneca PLC.

"Agreements with other companies will be concluded soon and build a diversified portfolio of promising vaccines, based on various types of technologies, increasing our chances to find an effective remedy against the virus," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The commission added that it will finance part of the upfront costs faced by the producers as part of its strategy to accelerate the development and deployment of Covid-19 vaccines. The funding will be considered as "a down-payment" on the vaccines that will be purchased by member states.

Sanofi and GSK aim to have the vaccine available by the second half of 2021, after starting a Phase 1 and 2 study in September, with a Phase 3 study by the end of 2020.

In regards to regulatory processes, the commission said any vaccine will have to undergo assessments by the European Medicines Agency according to the EU market authorization procedure.

Write to Mauro Orru at [e-mail] and Giulia Petroni at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 18, 2020 07:53 ET (11:53 GMT)

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