This is "a first" in the pharmaceutical industry, assures the boss of Sanofi.
After having unveiled it in an interview with the press the day before, the French laboratory confirms this Wednesday, by way of a press release, that it will give its competitor Pfizer-BioNTech access to its production tool from summer 2021.
Faced with the production difficulties encountered by producers of authorized Covid-19 vaccines, Sanofi "will take charge of the final stages of manufacture to provide more than 125 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for the European Union", adds the press release.
"A first", welcomes RTL Olivier Bogillot, France boss of Sanofi
"The stake is not at all economic, but the capacity to distribute them as quickly as possible", assures the boss.
The agreement between Sanofi and BioNTech "supports the order for 600 million doses that the European Union has placed" and "makes this order feasible", assures the French Minister for Industry, Agnès Pannier, on Wednesday. Runacher.
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It “will make it possible to produce more than 100 million doses from the month of August, at a fairly regular rate until the end of the year, so as to provide immediate support [...] for the European market », Declares Agnès Pannier-Runacher on France 2.
Several French laboratories expected as reinforcements
The Minister recalls that in addition to the agreement signed by Sanofi, three manufacturers will produce vaccines at their sites in France: Recipharm, Delpharm, Fareva, and that this starts during the first half of the year.
"Other laboratories" - which she does not give the name - will join this device, she announces, "since now we have better visibility on the vaccines that work and on industrial capacities".
Asked about the delivery delays announced by the British laboratory AstraZeneca, Agnès Pannier-Runacher specifies having “requested an inspection” of the vaccine production site, to take stock of the production difficulties.
“This subject must be resolved quickly and […] the doubts about the destination of the doses must also be quickly resolved.
"
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The French minister also observed that the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, “indicated that she was going to make proposals in the area of export control.
"With regard to France," I am delivered the number of doses I ordered, assures the minister.
So I have no reason to suspend my payments.
"
Sanofi's vaccine "will arrive by the end of the year"
On RTL, the boss of Sanofi also defends the strategic choices of his laboratory, strongly criticized since the delay of its main candidate vaccine.
“Moderna and BioNtech made this choice
(Editor's note, innovative messenger RNA technology)
also because it was the only technology they had.
We had several options.
We chose an option that we mastered, ”he says.
The Sanofi vaccine uses recombinant protein technology, developed with the British company GSK.
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But this vaccine, which was originally announced for the summer of 2021, suffered a setback after disappointing clinical trials.
It "will happen by the end of the year."
We expect to have very good efficacy, ”assures Olivier Bogillot, who specifies that“ the efficacy of this vaccine on variants ”of the virus will also be explored.
Finally, the boss of Sanofi France defends the cuts of hundreds of positions in the research and development of the group, which aroused the stir in view of the slowness of the French juggernaut against other laboratories.
These deletions have, according to him, “no consequence on the vaccines branch.
Sanofi has decided to invest in the diseases where you have the greatest needs.
"
