Sanofi (NSE:SANOFI) and its partner GSK (NYSE:GSK) are hoping the low price of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine will stoke interest.
In a call with analysts, Thomas Triomphe, head of the Sanofi Pasteur vaccines division, said that its vaccine would cost less than $10 per dose.
For the sake of comparison, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines generally cost in the ballpark of $15 to $30 per dose, depending on the location.
The company is also upbeat about the vaccine’s prospects as a booster.
A Phase 2 trial is currently underway to evaluate its use as a booster. Sanofi has a Phase 3 trial in the works to test its overall safety and efficacy.
The investigational vaccine uses a recombinant protein platform.
Last month, the company scrapped its plans to pursue the development of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Instead, it will continue researching mRNA vaccines that could “address future pandemics and other infectious diseases and therapeutics where there is a strong unmet need,” it announced.
In its Q3 earnings announcement, the company announced that vaccine sales grew 16.5% year over year.
Sanofi reported that differentiated flu and meningitis vaccine sales drove the majority of the growth.
GSK is also pursuing the development of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate known as GBP510 with SK Bioscience. That vaccine is currently the subject of a Phase 3 trial.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery, Infectious Disease
