Sanofi and GSK to provide 72 million vaccine doses to Canada

French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi and Britain's GSK have promised up to 72 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate to the Canadian government, which has already signed similar agreements with several American companies.

The two groups, which plan to seek regulatory approval for the vaccine in the first half of 2021, launched human clinical trials in early September, for which 440 participants are being recruited.

"To address a global health crisis of this magnitude, it takes partnerships and we are grateful to Canada for their collaboration, and to GSK for partnering with us to develop a safe and effective vaccine," Sanofi Pasteur vice president Thomas Triomphe said in a joint statement.

Canada already signed in August agreements in principle for candidate vaccines with American firms Novavax, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna.

Several countries have already reserved doses of the vaccine candidate from Sanofi and GSK—60 million doses have been promised to the British government, the European Commission has reserved 300 million, and the United States 100 million with an option for up to 500 million additional doses over the longer term.