French drugmaker Sanofi (SNYNF) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are close to clinching a £500 million ($624 million) deal to supply the British government with 60 million doses of their coronavirus vaccine candidate, according to a Sunday Times report.
The British government is understood to be considering an option to buy the vaccine from the pharmaceuticals giants should it prove to be successful in human trials, which are scheduled to begin in September. Payment would be made in stages as the vaccine progresses, with final payment made on delivery.
The U.K. has already secured a deal to buy 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca (AZN) vaccine candidate.
The deal for an as yet unproven vaccine underlines ministers’ desperation to secure a supply as countries scramble to buy up possible COVID-19 treatments. The U.S. has bought most of the world’s supply of remdesivir, an antiviral treatment made by the Californian drugs giant Gilead Sciences (GILD), prompting fears that America might not co-operate with other countries.
Earlier this year, Sanofi entered into a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline to jointly develop an adjuvanted vaccine for COVID-19. The two companies said they expected a candidate vaccine to enter Phase 1 clinical trials in the second half of 2020 and, if successful, they plan to make it available in the second half of 2021. The vaccine candidate is being supported through funding by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
Separate to its GSK collaboration, Sanofi’s vaccine division Sanofi Pasteur in March partnered with Translate Bio (TBIO) for the development of a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine against COVID-19. The French drugmaker has said it has the capacity to produce up to 1 billion doses a year.
Shares in Sanofi have recovered since reaching a low in March and are now trading about 4% higher than at the beginning of the year. The stock rose 2.5% to $103.48 as of the close on July 2.
TipRanks data shows that the majority of analysts have a bullish outlook on the stock. The Strong Buy consensus boasts 11 Buy ratings versus 2 Hold ratings. The $116.48 average price target reflects 13% upside potential in the shares in the coming 12 months. (See Sanofi stock analysis on TipRanks)
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