Yahoo Finance Sanofi (SNY), GSK COVID Booster Jab Effective Against Omicron
Sanofi SNY announced data from two clinical studies, which evaluated its new next-generation COVID-19 booster vaccine candidate modeled on the Beta variant of concern. This candidate was developed in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline GSK.
Data from cohort 2 of the phase III VAT02 study demonstrated that patients who received a shot of this next-generation booster showed a significant boost in antibody response above baseline against multiple variant of concerns, including Omicron. While there was a 30-fold increase in antibody titers against the Beta variant, preliminary data showed a 40-fold increase against the BA.1 sub-variant of the Omicron strain. The study enrolled participants who were previously vaccinated with an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine.
Sanofialso reported results from an independently conducted study COVIBOOST (VAT013), which also evaluated the next-generation booster shot in participants who had completed a primary two-dose regimen of Pfizer PFE/BioNTech’s BNTX mRNA-based vaccine.
Data from the COVIBOOST study showed that candidates who received the Sanofi-GSK next-generation booster vaccine candidate elicited a higher immune response than those who received a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine as well as Sanofi-GSK’s first-generation parent booster candidate. Pfizer and BioNTech currently market their COVID-19 vaccine under the trade name Comirnaty.
In the year so far, shares of Sanofi have risen 1.6% compared with the industry’s 1% increase.
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Per Sanofi, the next-generation booster vaccine candidate was developed keeping in view the emergence of the new COVID-19 variants as well as waning immunity. The candidate was modelled on the Beta variant as it carries similar mutations, which were also found in multiple variants of concern, including Omicron.
Both Sanofi and Glaxo already developed a first-generation recombinant COVID-19 vaccine as a primary vaccine and a booster, which is designed to boost all currently approved COVID-19 vaccine platforms (includes mRNA, protein and adenovirus-based vaccines). This vaccine is yet to be approved/authorized by any regulatory body. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently reviewing SNY’s regulatory filing seeking conditional marketing authorization for the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine.
Both Sanofi and Glaxo plan to initiate regulatory submissions seeking approval/authorization for the next-generation candidate based on the above-mentioned data in a few weeks with plans for a commercial launch by this year-end.
Both companies are developing the COVID-19 vaccines as part of a collaboration agreement reached in 2020. Per the terms of the same, SNY contributed its recombinant antigen while GSK contributed its pandemic adjuvant technology to the development of these candidate. Sanofi is leading the clinical development.
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Sanofi currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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