Benzinga | Mar 16, 2021 11:09AM EDT

GSK Kick Starts Late-Stage Study With Medicago-Partnered COVID-19 Vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE: GSK) hopes for better luck with its second partner Medicago, after tripping up in a recent COVID-19 vaccine test with Sanofi SA (NASDAQ: SNY).

* GSK and Medicago will start Phase 3 testing of Medicago's COVID-19 vaccine candidate combined with GSK's pandemic adjuvant.

* The companies penned a vaccine deal last year to test Medicago's plant-derived recombinant coronavirus-like particles (CoVLPs) with GSK's pandemic adjuvant system that has been used in previous epidemics.

* A similar vaccine approach didn't initially work out very well for Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, which posted weak results in older patients.

* Last month, the companies corrected the vaccine's formulation, GSK and Sanofi began a Phase 2 clinical trial of a new version of the vaccine.

* Phase 3 with Medicago will be conducted in about 30,000 patients while also assessing the shot "to address emerging variants" in a feasibility test.

* As part of the program, patients in the trial will get two doses of 3.75 micrograms of CoVLPs administered 21 days apart.

* The trial is part of the ongoing phase 2/3 study that started last November.

* The Phase 2 part of the trial should see early data out next month.

* GSK, along with Vir Biotechnology Inc's (NASDAQ: VIR), is evaluating a COVID-19 antibody therapy. Interim analysis of data from 583 patients demonstrated an 85% reduction in hospitalization or death.

* Last week, Sanofi and Translate Bio began a trial of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.

* Price Action: SNY and GSK shares are trading 0.8% and 0.78% higher at $49.11 and $36.16, respectively, in the market trading hours on the last check Tuesday.