StockMarketWire.com - Pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi reached an agreement with the UK government to supply up to 60m doses of a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

The vaccine candidate used Sanofi's recombinant protein-based technology combined with GSK's pandemic adjuvant system.

Sanofi said it expected a phase 1/2 study to start in September, followed by a phase 3 study by the end of 2020. In the event that the data were positive, regulatory approval could be achieved by the first half of 2021, the company said.

Sanofi and GSK were scaling up manufacturing of the antigen and adjuvant to produce up to one billion doses per year overall.

Active discussions on supply of the vaccine were ongoing with global organizations, the US and the EU Commission - with France and Italy on the negotiation team, the company said.

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