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French pharma giant Sanofi says its Covid vaccine shows positive result

French pharmaceuticals giant Sanofi and Britain's GSK reported on Monday "strong immune responses" in early tests of their Covid-19 vaccine, raising hopes it could join the fight against the pandemic.

Published: 17 May 2021 09:25 CEST

French pharma giant Sanofi says its Covid vaccine shows positive result

The companies said the vaccine would not be ready until the end of 2021. Photo: JOEL SAGET / AFP

The companies said the results of the Phase 2 study will enable them to move to a late-stage trial in the coming weeks — a reversal of fortune after their research was dealt a setback late last year.

The experimental vaccine “achieved strong rates of neutralizing antibody responses, in line with those measured in people who have recovered from COVID-19, in all adult age groups in a Phase 2 study with 722 volunteers,” it said in a statement.

“A global pivotal Phase 3 study is expected to start in the coming weeks.”

READ ALSO: France hits 20 million milestone in Covid vaccination drive

An earlier study in late 2020 showed the vaccine provided a low immune response in older adults. The companies said the vaccine would not be ready until the end of 2021.

“Our Phase 2 data confirm the potential of this vaccine to play a role in addressing this ongoing global public health crisis,” said Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president and global head of Sanofi Pasteur.

“As we know multiple vaccines will be needed, especially as variants continue to emerge and the need for effective and booster vaccines, which can be stored at normal temperatures, increases,” he said.

READ ALSO: How under 50s in France can book a Covid vaccine appointment

The firms are combining a Sanofi-developed antigen, which stimulates the production of germ-killing antibodies, with GSK’s adjuvant technology, a substance that bolsters the immune response triggered by a vaccine.

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France’s Covid-19 app to be 'put to sleep'

Covid-19 screening in France reaches an important milestone on Friday, June 30th, 2023 – when the TousAntiCovid app is officially ‘put to sleep’.

The app, which was launched in June 2020 as France came out of its first lockdown of the pandemic and has undergone a number of iterations, including as a delivery device for the health pass, will be switched off.

For most people, this anniversary will pass without mention. Few people have consulted the app in recent months, and it has sat dormant on many smartphones since France’s Covid-19 health pass requirement was suspended in March 2022.

Meanwhile, the Système d’Informations de DEPistage (SI-DEP) interface – which has been informing people about their test results since the Spring of 2020 – is also being shut down on June 30th, as per legal requirements.

The SI-DEP shutdown means that it will also be impossible to retrieve Covid test certificates issued before June 30th, should the need arise. All data held by the database will be “destroyed”, officials have said.

It has handled more than 320 million antigen and PCR tests since it was introduced.

This does not mean that testing for Covid-19 has stopped, or is now unnecessary. As reported recently, more than 1,000 deaths a week in Europe are still caused by the virus.

The shutdown of the national information system does not mean that people in France cannot still book an appointment for an antigen test at a pharmacy, or a PCR test at a laboratory. But the number of people going for testing is declining rapidly. In recent days, according to Le Parisien, just 15,000 people in France took a Covid test – the lowest number, it said, since the pandemic started.

Reimbursement rules for testing changed on March 1st, with only certain categories of people – minors, those aged 65 and over, or immunosuppressed patients – covered for the entire cost of testing.

From Friday, only PCR test results will be transmitted to authorities for data purposes, meaning pharmacists that only offer antigen testing will be locked out of the online interface to record test results.

The reason for the shift in priorities is to maintain “minimal epidemiological surveillance”, the Ministry of Health has reportedly told scientists.

As a result test certificates, showing a positive or negative result, will no longer be issued from July 1st. Since February 1st, anyone taking a test has had to give consent to share their data in order to obtain a certificate.

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