Drugmakers Sanofi and GSK launch human trials for COVID-19 vaccine

• The major European drug companies Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline say they have begun trials of a coronavirus vaccine on humans.
• More than 400 healthy people are enrolled at 11 sites across the US, the companies said.
• Both firms aim to supply up to 1 billion vaccine doses in 2021, though a World Health Organization spokeswoman has said the organization doesn't expect "widespread" COVID-19 vaccinations until mid-2021.

The European drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi have begun testing their new protein-based coronavirus vaccine on humans for the first time. If effective, they aim to produce up to 1 billion doses in 2021.

GSK — the world's largest vaccine manufacturer — and the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi have enrolled 440 people across 11 sites in the US, both companies told Business Insider. Previous studies have shown promising results.

Both firms expect to have results by early December and will then look to progress into late-stage human trials. If the results are successful, GSK and Sanofi expect to request regulatory approval in the first half of next year.

Their vaccine combines the same technology Sanofi uses to make its flu vaccine, with help from GSK to create a stronger immune response.

Thomas Triomphe, the executive vice president and global head of Sanofi Pasteur, said in a statement that the beginning of the clinical study was an important step in helping defeat COVID-19.

Roger Connor, the president of global vaccines at GSK, described the trials as "an important moment" in addressing the coronavirus pandemic.

In July, GSK and Sanofi announced a plan with the US government to provide up to 100 million doses of their vaccine to meet the government's goal of speeding up the availability of hundreds of millions of vaccine doses in the US. The two firms have also agreed to supply up to 60 million doses to the UK.

GSK and Sanofi join dozens of other pharmaceutical companies in the race to develop a vaccine.

A World Health Organization spokeswoman on Friday, however, said the group didn't expect "widespread" COVID-19 vaccinations to be available until mid-2021.