Sanofi Pasteur and Translate Bio this week announced plans to collaborate to develop a novel messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for COVID-19.
This collaboration leverages an existing 2018 agreement Translate Bio entered establishing a three-year collaboration and exclusive licensing agreement with Sanofi Pasteur Inc., the vaccines global business unit of Sanofi S.A., to develop mRNA vaccines for up to five infectious disease pathogens.
Translate Bio has begun to produce multiple mRNA constructs and will use its mRNA platform to discover, design and manufacture SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates. Sanofi will provide support from its external research networks to advance vaccine candidates for potential further development. Translate Bio has established 100 gram single-batch production with its clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics platform. Build-out is underway of dedicated manufacturing space through a contract manufacturing partner to accommodate at least two 250 gram batches per month.
For Sanofi, this marks a second collaboration in its efforts to develop a novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate. In February 2020, Sanofi announced a collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance a novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The agreement with BARDA calls for Sanofi to initiate development of a recombinant, protein-based vaccine candidate against COVID-19.
“Having sufficient installed capacity will be key to satisfy the strong demand for vaccines we will probably see, and based on the experience we’ve had under the collaboration to date, we believe the Translate Bio mRNA platform could help us meet that need,” said David Loew, Global Head of Vaccines at Sanofi.
Source: Translate Bio
