By Cecilia Butini

Sanofi SA said Monday that it has begun a new clinical trial for the coronavirus vaccine it is developing with GlaxoSmithKline PLC after a previous study failed to elicit sufficient immune response to the virus in older adults.

The French pharmaceutical major said the new study, which is in phase 2, will assess whether a refined antigen formulation is able to achieve optimal immune response, including in older adults.

A previous phase 1-2 study had shown last December a lower immune response in that age group, likely due to an insufficient concentration of the antigen used in the shot, the company said.

If the results from phase 2 are positive, the companies plan to carry out a phase 3 trial in the second quarter of 2021, Sanofi said. In case of positive results, a regulatory submission would happen in the second half of 2021, making vaccines available in the fourth quarter of the year in case of approval.

Sanofi added that it has also started development work against new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 22, 2021 06:14 ET (11:14 GMT)

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