Sanofi drops plans for messenger RNA vaccine against virus

PARIS (AP) — French drugmaker Sanofi says it is shelving plans for a COVID-19 vaccine based on messenger RNA despite positive results from early stage testing. The Paris-based company said it will continue to develop another vaccine candidate that is already undergoing late stage human trials. That vaccine, being developed with Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline, uses a different technology. Sanofi is expanding efforts to test that vaccine as a COVID-19 booster. Messenger RNA vaccines are already made by Pfizer and Moderna. Sanofi decided it wasn’t worth pursuing that technology for COVID-19 vaccines, given how widely available they are.