Topline
European pharmaceutical giants Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline on Monday said their next-generation Covid booster shot provoked a “strong immune response” against omicron and other variants of concern, promising news for the industry heavyweights as more companies vie to enter the maturing coronavirus vaccine market.
Sanofi’s booster shot generated strong immune response against variants of concern, the company … [+]
Key Facts
The vaccine, an updated version of the firms’ original shot and modeled on the beta variant, provoked a strong immune boost against coronavirus variants of concern when given to adults previously vaccinated with mRNA vaccines—the technology used in shots made by Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna—Sanofi said.
There was a “significant boost” in the levels of protective antibodies against multiple coronavirus variants 15 days after vaccination, Sanofi said, including a 15-fold jump in the levels original strain-specific antibodies, 30-fold against the beta variant and 40-fold against omicron BA.1 compared to those who didn’t receive a booster shot.
The shot also generated double the number of “neutralizing” antibodies—which target the virus and stop it from replicating—against the BA.1 and BA.2 omicron variants compared to the firms’ booster based on the original Covid strain, Sanofi said.
Sanofi also said an independent study conducted by the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris showed its next-generation booster generated a stronger immune response against omicron than a booster shot of Pfizer’s original Covid vaccine for those already vaccinated with Pfizer’s shot.
The study, which has not yet been peer reviewed or published, found those boosted with the Sanofi-GSK shot generated the highest levels of omicron BA.1-specific neutralizing antibodies compared to another Pfizer shot or the firms’ shot modeled on the original variant.
Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Sanofi Vaccines, said the company looks forward to submitting the data to regulatory authorities around the world and believes the booster “could have an important role to play for public health vaccination campaigns.”
Key Background
The promising results will come as a boon for the two industry titans after they stumbled early on in the race to develop a Covid-19 shot. Though frontrunners like Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have enjoyed a powerful first-mover advantage, there is still a sizable market left for latecomers. On a global scale, a great many people are still not vaccinated at all, while other countries are developing strategies for booster campaigns and preparing to live with the virus long-term. Shots like Sanofi’s and GSK’s could help plug gaps in the market, particularly as they are based on an older vaccine technology unlike many shots available, including those from Pfizer, BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna.
What To Watch For
Next-gen vaccines. The majority of vaccines in widespread use are still based on the original variant of Covid virus identified in 2019. While still broadly effective at preventing serious illness and death, the variants of coronavirus circulating now are drastically different from the original strain and some variants—notably omicron—are able to evade the protection they provide. The Sanofi-GSK shot is part of an expanding wave next-generation vaccines designed using variants other than the original strain, which is likely to continue as firms push for approval before anticipated booster campaigns in Fall 2022 as many countries prepare for winter. Most major Covid vaccine makers—including Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax—have been working on newer shots to address fading effectiveness against omicron.
Further Reading
The U.S. Is About to Make a Big Gamble on Our Next COVID Winter (Atlantic)
We Cannot ‘Boost Our Way Out’ Of The Covid Pandemic, Experts Warn (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/06/13/sanofi-gsk-covid-booster-triggers-strong-immune-response-against-multiple-variants-including-omicron/