Sanofi's COVID-19 vaccine would not need to be superccooled and can be kept in a regular refrigerator, the French drugmaker said Sunday.
The announcement came days after American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German affiliate BioNTech revealed that their vaccine had proved 90% successful in preventing coronavirus in ongoing Phase 3 trials affecting more than 40,000 individuals.
The firms said they plan to produce up to 50 million doses of vaccines worldwide in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
Pfizer's vaccine, though, must be kept at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit) or else it falls apart, way outside most hospital freezers' capacities, let alone domestic appliances.
Rachel Silverman, a Center for Sustainable Development policy associate, has already warned that preserving the "ultra-cold chain" of the Pfizer vaccine from the manufacturer to patients' arms is an enormous logistical challenge even in Western countries.
What's so special? No need for super-cooling!
Sanofi Leader Olivier Bogillot of France said on Sunday, November 15, that their nominee for the vaccine might not need to be super-cooled.
"Our vaccine will be like the 'flu vaccine, you can keep it in your refrigerator," he told CNews per Straits Times.
The business head also stated that their vaccine would be sold at an "affordable" price on the market, but he did not offer more information.
Just days after Pfizer announced that their coronavirus vaccine had 90% effectiveness in averting the virus in the ongoing Phase 3 studies, Bogillot made his remarks. At the end of the year, the pharmaceutical company and its affiliate BioNTech agreed to produce up to 50 million jabs. They're aiming to make up to 1.3 billion shots in 2021.
Pfizer's vaccine's only drawback is that the doses must be kept at a super low temperature or at -70 degrees Celsius to preserve their potency. This is beyond the current capability of the plurality of hospitals worldwide.
Bogillot added that the Sanofi vaccine, one of those in production, would be ready for delivery next June.
In early December, he said the findings of the Phase 2 experiments involving hundreds of individuals, would be made available. If these findings are promising, in addition to mass manufacturing, Phase 3 trials affecting thousands of participants will begin.
Phase 3 studies have already started for eleven of the vaccines under production.
In the development process, Bogillot said the Pfizer vaccine is a little more late. But one laboratory would not be sufficient to provide the doses for the whole world.
Moderna will shortly issue its first interim report
According to a CNN report, the American company Moderna Inc will announce the first interim review results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate's late-stage study before the end of November.
To have the consent from the U.S. To contract coronavirus, Moderna must have at least 53 research participants from the Food and Drug Administration. The copany hit the 53 level already on Wednesday, November 11, while the organization is blinded whether participants got the placebo or vaccine. Until they submit it to the impartial advisory panel Results and Protection Control Board, the organization is already planning the test results.
This step 3 review of the COVE sample would demonstrate if the nominee Moderna vaccine is successful against the SARS-CoV-2 virus-induced COVID-19. Like the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna's jab uses mRNA technology, which experts think is highly effective.
The mRNA-based vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech, named BNT162b2, is reported to be 90% successful earlier. In the meantime, US Senior Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci said that by the end of 2020, the US would start handing out the shots to priority categories.
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