Sanofi says it can make 600m doses of coronavirus vax next year

April 20, 2020

As more companies bring their coronavirus vaccine candidates into human trials, the conversation has shifted to concerns over manufacturing capacity.

In a recent interview, Sanofi’s CEO, Paul Hudson, said that if its vaccine candidate wins approval, the French drugmaker will be able to churn out 600 million doses next year — a higher mark than many other companies.

“We believe we’re one of the few companies who will be able to make a vaccine at a huge scale,” he told CNBC. 

Last week, Sanofi announced that it is teaming up with GlaxoSmithKline to jointly develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. The companies are joining an increasingly crowded market for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine with companies such as J&J, Moderno and CureVac also in the hunt. 

J&J indicated last week that it is aiming to produce 600-900 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine next year if human trials this September go well. J&J has also struck a $1 billion deal with the federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to help fund the development of its vaccine. 

Sanofi and GSK plan to start human trials on their vaccine later this year and say they could begin production by the second half of 2021. 

Read the CNBC report.