One of the concerns patients have surrounding COVID-19 is the possibility of drug shortages, especially as countries around the world rely on China for much of their active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
Sanofi, though, is one company that has come out and stated it is not concerned about drug shortages due to the novel coronavirus. “We are working on the continuity of our supply through close collaboration with our suppliers throughout the world,” a Sanofi spokesperson said in March, adding that the company “does not anticipate shortages for patients resulting from the COVID-19 situation.”
According to its official COVID-19 response, Sanofi has safeguarded itself against shortages from major suppliers in China, India, and other Asian countries because it relies on ingredients from a variety of global sources, not just one country or source. According to the statement, Sanofi’s global network of manufacturing plants is operational and the aforementioned diversity of global sourcing “helps ensure business continuity across all our product lines.”
The concern about drug shortages around the world are real, as China turns out most of the world’s API supply and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t been able to indicate how much of the United States supply depends on that flow from China. However, the agency has previously acknowledged that only 13% of United States facilities are licensed to produce APIs for American drugs, compared to China’s 28%
Sanofi’s Contribution to the COVID-19 Solution
Drug Therapy
Sanofi is also working to find a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 16, 2020, the company, in collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, announced that they have started a clinical program to evaluate Kevzara® (sarilumbab) in patients who are hospitalized with a severe case of COVID-19. Kevzara is a fully-human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway by binding and blocking the IL-6 receptor, which may play a role in driving the overactive inflammatory response in the lungs of patients with COVID-19.
The Kevzara clinical trial is taking place in New York and is evaluating the safety and efficacy of adding Kevzara to usual supportive care, as compared to supportive care plus a placebo.
Vaccine
Sanofi is also working with Translate Bio, a clinical-stage messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics company, to develop a novel mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. Translate Bio has begun to produce multiple mRNA constructs and will use its mRNA platform to discover, design, and manufacture several SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates. For its part, Sanofi will provide deep vaccine expertise and support from its external research networks to advance vaccine candidates for potential further development.
The collaboration with Translate Bio is the second collaboration Sanofi has entered into to develop a novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate. In February, the company announced its collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)c to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.