Global biopharmaceutical firm Sanofi has launched a dedicated vaccines mRNA Center of Excellence to accelerate development and delivery of next-generation vaccines.
The company has also announced plans to invest about $476.2m (€400m) per year on the new facility for the research and development of next-generation vaccines using mRNA technologies.
The mRNA Center of Excellence will employ approximately 400 staff from existing sites in a bid to integrate end-to-end mRNA vaccine capabilities.
This will include bringing together dedicated research & development, digital and chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) teams working across sites at Cambridge, Massachusetts in the US and Marcy l’Etoile, Lyon in France.
The centre is expected to produce a minimum of six clinical candidates by 2025.
Sanofi Pasteur Research and Development global head Jean-Francois Toussaint said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, mRNA technologies demonstrated potential to deliver new vaccines faster than ever before.
“However, key areas of innovation such as thermostability and tolerability improvements will be critical to unlock the applications of mRNA in routine vaccination against a broader set of infectious diseases and across all ages.
“The Sanofi mRNA vaccines Center of Excellence aims to lead the field in this next chapter of vaccine innovation.”
The company is working on the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate with biotech company Translate Bio.
The two companies, which have been collaborating since 2018, also commenced a Phase I clinical trial recently to evaluate an mRNA-based investigational vaccine against seasonal influenza.
The Phase 1 influenza mRNA vaccine clinical trial will evaluate two formulations of the vaccine (MRT5400 and MRT5401). It will assess the immunogenicity (immune response) and safety of the monovalent (single-strain) mRNA-based flu vaccine candidate in about 280 participants.