GSK plc (LSE/NYSE:GSK) and Sanofi (NYSE:GSK) have announced that their adjuvanted bivalent vaccine candidate had 72% efficacy against omicron in adults in stage 2 of a Phase 3 study.
For those with SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity, the vaccine was 93.2% effective against omicron.
The vaccine is based on the original D614 virus and the beta (B.1.351) strain.
Across variants, the vaccine was 64.7% efficacious against symptomatic infection in adults. For those previously infected with COVID-19, the vaccine was 75.1% efficacious overall.
GSK and Sanofi noted that the vaccine candidate appeared to be well-tolerated.
Moderna (Nasdaq:MRNA) is developing a bivalent omicron booster vaccine candidate known as mRNA-1273.214.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and its partner BioNTech SE (Nasdaq:BNTX) have released minimal data to date on their next-generation COVID-19 vaccine.
Sanofi’s and GSK’s Phase 3 COVID-19 clinical trial, dubbed VAT08, enrolled more than 13,000 adults.
The results of the Sanofi-GSK study demonstrate “the strong potential for the Beta antigen to confer broad protection against multiple strains that cause COVID-19,” said Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of vaccines at Sanofi, in a statement.
“With the immunogenicity data from our Beta-booster vaccine, they support our belief that, in a largely seropositive world, a next-generation Beta booster vaccine could provide protection against variants like Omicron,” Triomphe said. “mRNA has proven speed to market; we are demonstrating here the efficacy that our recombinant protein platform can provide to the world. We look forward to completing our submissions to regulatory authorities and are ready to contribute to ongoing vaccination campaigns with our next-generation booster.”
GSK shares increased 1.94% to $43.58 in mid-day trading. Sanofi saw its stock rise 5.02% to €100.56.