Sanofi, GSK say revamped coronavirus vaccine is strong enough for final test

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline on Monday reported a coronavirus vaccine they developed together met the goal of a mid-stage clinical trial, boosting the companies' research efforts five months after an earlier version of the shot disappointed in a costly setback. Results from the trial, which enrolled 722 volunteers in the U.S. and Honduras, showed the revamped vaccine spurred immune responses that were comparable to what researchers have observed following naturally occurring cases of COVID-19. Importantly, the companies said responses were strong across age groups, including in older adults whose immune systems tend to be weaker. Sanofi and GSK now plan to launch a Phase 3 study of the vaccine in the 'coming weeks' and expect to enroll some 35,000 adult volunteers from a 'broad range of countries.' Doing so will be harder than six months ago, however, after multiple other vaccines have been made available in many countries in North America, Europe and the Middle East.