The Covid-19 pandemic laid the foundation for the commercialization of the mRNA platform which pharmaceutical companies are now investing heavily. Not to be left out of the action, Sanofi also announced its new Translational Science Hub in Australia in December which will link to its mRNA Centre of Excellence in France and the U.S.

Sanofi is calling it the second generation of mRNA vaccines, mRNA2.0.

Korea Biomedical Review sat down with Regis Launay, Vice President and Head of the JPAC Commercial Operations Sanofi vaccines, to hear about the company’s vaccine strategy.

Launay oversees the overall strategy of the region for marketing and sales which include policy and partnership with decision-makers.

He said mRNA vaccines will not solve all problems.

“That's why we need to maintain a full set of technologies at our disposal to continue inventing the best-in-class vaccines.”

How will the mRNA hub serve the JPAC region?

Sanofi plans to use the mRNA technology to provide better protections than the existing ones limited by thermal stability and reactogenicity.

"The main objective of the hub is to accelerate the development of our pipeline," explained Launay. "By leveraging our respective science competencies across the region at Sanofi and globally, we aim to accelerate the development of new vaccines while responding to particular needs in the region."

Chlamydia is the No. 1 prevalent sexually transmissible disease in the world for which no vaccine currently exists and has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a critical disease for which a vaccine should be developed.

This is one of the reasons why Sanofi decided to pioneer this disease, which is also very prevalent in Australia. 

Likewise, Sanofi is also collaborating with SK Bioscience on a next-generation pneumococcal vaccine which is currently in phase 2 clinical trials in the U.S.

Aside from improving the existing vaccines, mRNA 2.0 will target novel diseases for which there is no solution.

Current trends in the vaccine industry

Launay revealed that working in the vaccine field ignited his sense of purpose as the industry largely relies on public-private partnerships to fix global health issues.

“Most of the work we are doing is in collaboration with the policymakers and public health authorities to provide public health solutions," said Launay. “It’s great to be able to contribute to public health solutions and that has always been rewarding for me.”

In the industry for 16 years, he highlighted some trends he has observed from his experience.

The Covid-19 pandemic has definitely increased the value of vaccines in the eyes of both policymakers and the general public, especially in Asia, which has also endured other pandemics like MERS, SARS, and H1N1.

In particular, this has drawn attention to the need to anticipate future pandemics to avoid health system and economic disruptions, he noted.

Subsequently, the need to acquire and implement some manufacturing capabilities and capacities into the region has also been noted, he added.

Key areas for Sanofi in 2023

Launay also pinpointed some priority areas for Sanofi’s JPAC region this year.

“With a long history in the vaccine field, we believe we have a responsibility to keep promoting vaccination, supplying vaccines without disruption, and supporting policymakers to build the right programs for their respective communities and populations,” he explained.

Regarding the JPAC region in particular, he stated that Sanofi currently leads in the field of pediatric vaccines in Korea, Japan, and Australia, and will continue to lead in this way.

As the biggest influenza manufacturer in the world with more than 200 million doses of influenza vaccines every year, Sanofi is constantly seeking new ways to increase protection for vulnerable populations, he added.

“In this regard, we have differentiated our influenza vaccines to provide better protection for the elderly population against influenza and its complications which is currently available in Australia and we will continue expanding it for other regions in JPAC.”

Additionally, the multinational pharmaceutical company plans to increase manufacturing capacities in the respiratory disease franchise like RSV and influenza by engaging with policymakers to provide innovative solutions in the next few years.

Still, he acknowledged some challenges.

“As each country across the region has its own regulation and health technology assessments, it requires a lot of work to comply with the different regulations to quickly make our innovative vaccines available to respective populations,” said Launay.

Another challenge is responding to the specific needs of the region which he admitted can be a challenge but also an opportunity.

He mentioned the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine as an example of the importance of regional responses. Although the virus was endemic to Japan and South East Asia, due to climate change,  outbreaks of Japanese Encephalitis occurred across the Australian continent.

“We were very fortunate that Sanofi already had a licensed vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis and that enabled us to provide a very quick emergency solution for Australia, leveraging a vaccine which was developed in Asia by Sanofi.”

Overall, he highlighted vaccine development as a challenging industry.

“Despite efforts to develop a better tuberculosis vaccine worldwide, there have not been any successes and this is a disease that still affects the Asian region, with Korea showing a particularly high incidence,” Launay said. “This is why you don’t see vaccines every year. It requires a lot of time and investment and even if you have our level of experience, it remains a challenging industry to develop suitable new immunization solutions."