French pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi has said that its Covid-19 vaccine, developed with Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, had delivered positive results after nearly a year of setbacks that left it lagging far behind its rivals.
The two drug makers said Wednesday that they will "seek regulatory authorisation" for their vaccine in the United States and the European Union following phase 3 trials involving thousands of people.
Sanofi reported in a statement that clinical trials indicated that the vaccine was 100 percent effective against severe Covid disease and hospitalisation.
It added it was also more than 50 percent effective against all symptomatic Covid strains.
We're pleased to share the latest news about our #COVID19 vaccine.
— Sanofi (@sanofi) February 23, 2022
The pharmaceutical group's vice-president for vaccines Thomas Triomphe said the data was "similar to the recent clinical data from authorised vaccines", emphasising that no other phase 3 study "has been undertaken during this period with so many variants of concern, including Omicron."
The announcement of the positive trials puts the vaccine on track ahead of the final hurdle before a possible market launch.
On the back of Wednesday's announcement, Sanofi's share price rose nearly 1.5 percent on the Paris stock exchange by midday.
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Sanofi débacle wounded French pride
If the inoculation gets the green light, it will mark the end of Sanofi's long struggle to develop a Covid vaccine following numerous setbacks.
The French firm originally hoped to announce such results by mid-2021, but the date was pushed back by six months due to a dosing error.
Then it was delayed again late last year after difficulties finding people who had never been infected with Covid to participate in the trials.
The delays - along with the world renowned Pasteur Institute abandoning it own plans to develop its a vaccine last year - severely dented the pride of a country that considers itself a leader on pharmaceutical technology.
Having abandoned the development of mRNA technology used by rivals Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, Sanofi is now focused on a vaccine using more conventional techniques based on recombinant protein technology.
There are hopes that Sanofi's jab could appeal more to unvaccinated people who remain sceptical of mRNA technology, despite conclusive evidence of its effectiveness.
