Sanofi, Walter Reed partner for Zika vaccine

Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NYSE:SNY) said its Sanofi Pasteur vaccines unit partnered with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to co-develop a Zika vaccine under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The vaccine was produced from purified, inactivated Zika virus from Puerto Rico, and is expected to enter the clinic this fall.

Walter Reed will transfer its Zika vaccine technology to Sanofi Pasteur and will share its preclinical data and biologic samples. Sanofi spokesperson Susan Watkins told BioCentury the pharma will take over development of the vaccine candidate after completion of Phase I studies, which will be sponsored by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). ...