Sanofi and SK bioscience have entered into an agreement to develop, licence and commercialise next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) for both paediatric and adult populations.

The deal expands the partners’ existing collaboration to develop and commercialise a 21-valent paediatric PCV (PCV21), which entered late-stage clinical development last month.

The latest agreement will see both companies co-fund research and development costs. If approved, Sanofi will commercialise the vaccines worldwide except for in South Korea, where SK will have commercial exclusivity.

In exchange, SK will receive €50m upfront and will be eligible for development and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalty payments.

Diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria are currently considered a “major public health problem” by the World Health Organization, with about one million children dying of pneumococcal disease globally every year.

There are more than 100 serotypes of pneumococcal bacteria and those not included in currently available conjugate vaccines are largely responsible for the burden of disease.

Sanofi/SK’s PCV21 candidate is the first-ever PCV containing more than 20 serotypes to enter a phase 3 clinical study in infants and toddlers.

Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president, vaccines, Sanofi, said: “Given the vast unmet public health needs in invasive pneumococcal disease, we’re delighted to expand this collaboration and continue our pursuit of innovative work in PCV.”

Also commenting on the alliance, SK bioscience’s chief executive officer and president, Jaeyong Ahn, said: “We’re thrilled about the expansion of our collaboration with Sanofi, which serves as the core of our strategy to develop new solutions to combat pneumococcal disease.”

Ahn added that the ongoing expansion of its new manufacturing base, co-financed by Sanofi, will “support [the] launch of PCV21 and future next generation vaccines”.

The announcement comes just weeks after Sanofi’s two combination vaccine candidates for COVID-19 and influenza were granted fast track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in individuals ages 50 years and older.

It is hoped that the combined vaccine approach will alleviate the impact of both respiratory illnesses while simplifying immunisation practices for healthcare providers and patients, potentially leading to higher vaccine uptake.

Source：https://pmlive.com/pharma_news/sanofi-and-sk-bioscience-expand-pneumococcal-vaccine-collaboration/