The U.S. government pledged $2.1 billion to pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur for the production of up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as well as tests and treatments.
“The global need for a vaccine to help prevent COVID-19 is massive, and no single vaccine or company will be able to meet the global demand alone,” said Thomas Triomphe, the executive vice president of Sanofi Pasteur. “With our partner GSK, we expect our Phase 1/2 study for the recombinant adjuvanted approach to start in September.”
The deal between the pharmaceutical companies, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense is the largest of its kind, distributed as part of the Trump administration’s vaccine and treatment development initiative, Operation Warp Speed.
Previously, the largest deal was struck between the Trump administration and Pfizer and BioNTech for $1.95 billion. Both parties finalized that deal just last week.
“The portfolio of vaccines being assembled for Operation Warp Speed increases the odds that we will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said Thursday.
Sanofi said, though, that the vaccine likely would not be ready for public use until next year. The company expects a Phase 1/2 study to start in September, followed by a Phase 3 study by the end of 2020. If the vaccine is shown to be both effective and safe, the companies can request Food and Drug Administration approval in the first half of 2021.
The total price tag of developing vaccines through Operation Warp Speed has climbed to about $8 billion of the total $13 billion of funding made available through the initiative for vaccine and treatment development.
The number of coronavirus infections confirmed in the United States has reached about 4.5 million, and more than 152,000 people have died.
