French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has agreed to produce millions of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to help save as many lives as possible.
The company will offer BioNTech access to its vaccine production facility in Frankfurt, with doses to be delivered this summer.
The deal will see more than 125 million doses of the vaccine supplied the EU.
In a statement, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said: “We are very conscious that the earlier vaccine doses are available, the more lives can potentially be saved.”
“Today’s announcement is a pivotal step towards our industry’s collective goal of putting all the effort in to curb this pandemic.
“Although vaccination campaigns have started around the world, the ability to get shots into arms is being limited by lower-than-expected supplies and delayed approval timelines owing to production shortages.
“We have made the decision to support BioNTech and Pfizer in manufacturing their COVID-19 vaccine in order to help address global needs, given that we have the technology and facilities to do so.”
He said Sanofi will continue to focus its efforts on the development of its own vaccine candidate, which is entering a second round of Phase Two trials next month.
Astrazeneca
It comes as a dispute rolls on between the EU and Astrazeneca over its planned reduction in delivery.
The company announced last week that it would deliver 60% doses than planned in the coming weeks.
The EU has called on the company to provide full details on the cause of the shortfall.
It has also asked for permission to publish the €336m contract it signed with the company.
For its part Astrazeneca has denied pulling out of a meeting with EU officials this afternoon, insisting that it has now accepted the invitation to talks.
Ireland has originally hoped to receive 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in by the end of March.
That now looks likely to fall to around 300,000.
Sanofi
Sanofi is developing its vaccine with GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceuticals.
Its first round of Phase Two trials found the candidate gave the people aged between 18 and 49-years-old the same level of protection as patients who have recovered from the virus.
The candidate was less effective for older adults – something the companies believe is related to an insufficient concentration of antigen.
They hope the next round of trials will show the issue to have been corrected, with Phase Three trials to start in March or April.
If successful, they will seek regulatory approval in the second half of the year with rollout scheduled for next winter.
