French drug company Sanofi drops plan for mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine

French drug company Sanofi said on Tuesday it is going to ditch its plans for creating its own mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine due to the existing supply of these shots.

“Taking into account public health needs and given sufficient mRNA COVID-19 vaccines supply can be expected going forward, Sanofi has decided not to pursue the development of its COVID-19 mRNA candidate into a Phase 3 clinical study,” the company said in a statement.

Sanofi said it will instead concentrate on finishing its COVID-19 protein-based vaccine with the help of GlaxoSmithKline.

Pfizer and BioNTech have dominated the COVID-19 vaccine market in the Western world, delivering about 1.5 billion doses so far, Reuters reported.

Sanofi on Tuesday also announced positive preliminary results for its phase ½ trial of its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. However, the company said it will focus its mRNA resources to tackle future pandemics and other infectious diseases where “there is a strong unmet need.” 

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