Sanofi said Monday that preliminary data shows that its experimental next-generation COVID-19 booster provided a 40-fold increase in antibody protection against BA.1, a subvariant of omicron, in adults who had been previously vaccinated with the mRNA shots. Next-generation vaccines and boosters are based on newer variants of SARS-CoV-2, compared with the currently available vaccines, which were designed to protect against the original strain of the virus first detected in 2019. Sanofi’s next-generation booster candidate is based on the beta variant and uses an adjuvant developed by GlaxoSmithKline . The company also said its experimental next-generation booster generated a better immune response when compared with the traditional booster developed by BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. and Sanofi’s own “first-generation” booster. Data from this study was published as a preprint in May. Sanofi said it plans to submit the data for its next-generation booster to regulatory authorities within weeks. U.S.-listed shares of Sanofi are up 1.6% this year, while the broader S&P 500 has declined 18.1%.
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