The latest news from French pharma, including why President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to bring medical production back to Europe has hit a wall, Sanofi’s slow progress towards finally bringing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to market, and why investors are still betting on Valneva.
Macron’s Push for German Pharma Alliance Runs Into Trouble (Bloomberg)
At the height of the pandemic, Germany and France hatched a plan to bring medical production back to Europe. Less than 12 months later, the initiative has hit a wall.
Election-year politics in Germany and the fading urgency of the coronavirus crisis have brought the effort to a standstill, according to people familiar with the matter. The setback shows how French President Emmanuel Macron’s ideas to re-engineer Europe are faltering and suggests a retrenching to the more usual pattern of national squabbling.
Sanofi, GSK kick off Phase III trial for COVID-19 shot (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sanofi-gsk-launch-phase-iii-trial-their-covid-19-shot-2021-05-27/
France’s Sanofi and Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline launched a late-stage human trial for a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine candidate on Thursday which they hope to get approved by the end of 2021.
The study initiated by Sanofi (SASY.PA) and GSK (GSK.L) is one of the first late stage trials that combines tests for boosters and variants, as drugmakers adapt their strategies to deal with an evolving coronavirus.
Valneva’s not too late in COVID-19 as analysts eye $1.1B in 2022 vaccine sales (Fierce Pharma)
Valneva has yet to successfully usher its inactivated COVID-19 vaccine across the regulatory finish line, but analysts still see reason to bet on the French vaccine specialist.
The biotech’s shot could bring in roughly $1.1 billion in 2022 through supply deals and more than $500 million in 2023, Jefferies analysts wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. The vaccine, dubbed VLA2001, is currently in late-stage trials—tested against AstraZeneca’s shot—with a readout expected in the third quarter this year.
Sanofi and Cellectis partner for alemtuzumab in CAR T-cells trials (Seeking Alpha)
Cellectis (NASDAQ:CLLS) has entered into a partnership and a supply agreement with Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) for alemtuzumab an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to be used in Cellectis sponsored clinical trials.
The agreement relates to the use of alemtuzumab as part of a lymphodepleting regimen in certain Cellectis sponsored clinical trials involving gene-edited allogeneic CAR T-cells (UCART), the company said.
Sanofi looks to take Mylan to court, again, over EpiPen antitrust allegations (Fierce Pharma)
Sanofi has long argued that generics giant Mylan used anticompetitive practices to market its popular epinephrine autoinjector EpiPen, specifically scuppering the launch of its more “consumer-friendly” alternative Auvi-Q. Now, it’s appealing to the Tenth Circuit to make its case heard.
Sanofi is requesting a new trial to argue that Mylan blocked competition to its EpiPen competitor Auvi-Q, leveraging price hikes and steep rebates to maintain a U.S. epinephrine “monopoly.” The move comes after a Kansas District Court in December ruled in Mylan’s favor.
