This photographic illustration shows the logo of the British pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) shown on a smartphone with a computer model of the coronavirus COVID-19 in the background.
Budrul Chukrut | Images SOUP | Getty Images
Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline and France’s Sanofi said Monday they had started a new clinical trial of their protein-based vaccine candidate Covid-19 and were aiming to reach the final testing phase in the second quarter.
If the results are conclusive, the two pharmacists expect the vaccine to be approved in the fourth quarter after initially targeting the first half of this year.
The move comes after drug manufacturers declared in December that their vaccine would be delayed after clinical trials showed an insufficient immune response in the elderly.
The new trial will aim to assess the safety, tolerability and immune response of the vaccine in 720 healthy adults from across the United States, Honduras and Panama, the companies said.
Sanofi and the GSK candidate use the same technology based on recombinant proteins as one of Sanofi’s seasonal flu vaccines. It will be combined with an adjuvant, a substance that reinforces the shot, manufactured by GSK.
The study will test two injections performed with a 21-day separation.