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 The French drugmaker said on Tuesday its Sanofi Pasteur vaccines
division would use its expertise in developing vaccines for similar
viruses such as yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis and, most
recently, dengue.
The move comes a day after the World Health Organization declared
the mosquito-borne Zika virus to be an international public health
emergency due to its link to underdeveloped brains in some babies.
Such emergency declarations are a way for the WHO to mobilise
resources and coordinate action to fight a disease, and
Director-General Margaret Chan said on Monday that one of the
priorities was to develop a vaccine as fast as possible.
"Sanofi Pasteur is responding to the global call to action to
develop a Zika vaccine given the disease's rapid spread and possible
medical complications," said Nicholas Jackson, research head of
Sanofi Pasteur, who is leading the new Zika vaccine project.
Sanofi believes its established research and industrial
infrastructure for its newly licensed dengue vaccine can be rapidly
leveraged to help speed identification of a Zika vaccine candidate.
So far, the only groups with firm plans to develop a Zika vaccine
are small biotech companies and academic institutions, although
GlaxoSmithKline has said it is concluding feasibility studies to
evaluate if its vaccine technology is suitable.
Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, since the
disease, until recently, has not been seen a serious public health
concern.
Zika typically causes mild fevers and rashes and about 80 percent of
those infected show no symptoms. But its link to microcephaly, or
small heads, and other neurological disorders in newborns has
catapulted it up the global health agenda.
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The WHO last declared such a public health emergency for Ebola.
Zika is closely related to dengue and is spread by the same species
of mosquito. It also has similar symptoms, including fever, rash,
joint swelling and headaches. Nonetheless, developing a vaccine for
Zika is a major undertaking, involving much research and clinical
trials.
The closest vaccine prospect so far may be from a consortium
including U.S. biotech company Inovio Pharmaceuticals, which could
potentially have a vaccine ready for limited emergency use before
year-end, according to one of its lead developers.
(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Jason Neely)
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