Sanofi has launched a dedicated mRNA Center of Excellence with a planned annual commitment of approximately EUR 400 million ($475 million) to develop and deliver mRNA vaccines.

The center will bring together approximately 400 employees by integrating end-to-end mRNA vaccine capabilities of R&D, digital, and chemistry, manufacturing and controls teams across sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Marcy l’Etoile, Lyon, France.

The Center of Excellence will enable acceleration of the vaccines mRNA portfolio developed through Sanofi’s collaboration with Translate Bio, a clinical-stage messenger therapeutics company, which was formed in 2018 and expanded in 2020. In 2020, the companies agreed to expand their existing 2018 collaboration and license agreement to develop mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases, including COVID-19 vaccine candidates, in a deal worth up to $2.3 billion ($425 million upfront, and up to $1.9 billion of potential milestones/payments).

Sanofi expects a minimum of six clinical candidates to be developed from the new center by 2025.

Source: Sanofi