Sanofi will use its Ridgefield, NJ facility to perform fill and finish of the doses, starting in September.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been mobilizing on multiple fronts and we showed solidarity across the industry”, said Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, Sanofi.
“We are one of the few pharmaceutical companies to leverage many industrial partnerships to improve global supply and access to COVID-19 vaccines, while in parallel, also continuing to develop our two COVID-19 vaccine programs. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Biden administration, to facilitate this new partnership. ”
Earlier this year, Sanofi announced it would support BioNTech in manufacturing 125 million doses for the EU from its Frankfurt plant; while its manufacturing site in Marcy l’Etoile, France will support Johnson & Johnson for the production of its COVID-19 vaccine (around 12 million doses a month).
The company, meanwhile, continues to work on its own two COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
Its partnership with GSK on a recombinant protein-based vaccine (delayed last year to improve the antigen formulation after early trials showed an insufficient immune response in older people) is in Phase 2 trials. This is now anticipated to be available in Q4 2021 (pending Phase 3 outcomes and regulatory authorizations).
Sanofi has also partnered with Translate Bio for a mRNA candidate. This vaccine is in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial.