The first French vaccine against the coronavirus will soon be available. Eco guest of franceinfo, Franck Grimaud, the general manager of the Valneva laboratory, announces that his serum will be delivered “probably in May”, if the biotech obtains the latest regulatory approvals. This vaccine is currently “in the final stage” to obtain marketing authorization. “We hope to be able to have the final registration of the European Medicines Agency at the end of April”says Franck Grimaud.
In the event of a green light, Valneva’s product would therefore be the first French vaccine against the virus on the market. A vaccine without messenger RNA, “virus inactivated technology”which could “participate in the first vaccination of people” who have not received a dose, continues Franck Grimaud, “but the issue immediately behind it is the reminders which will probably become annual, a bit like the flu”.
In December, a British study highlighted the lower effectiveness of Valneva, in a booster dose, compared to its competitors. But according to the director general of the laboratory, this study did not reflect real conditions. “We fully believe that an inactivated vaccine can be used as a very good booster”, he insists. The leader also believes that his serum can compete with its major competitors Pfizer and Moderna.
Orders are multiplying for the French laboratory: “We have secured 60 million doses with the Member States of the European Union, around twenty states, including 24 million firm doses. We have also signed with Bahrain. We have other negotiations underway, in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America. We hope, by the end of the year, to sign new agreements.”.