Paris—French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi said Tuesday that international Phase 3 clinical tests of its Kevzara drug for serious Covid-19 cases had proved inconclusive and it was halting the trial.
The Phase 3 test—normally the last before official approval for use—"did not meet the primary or secondary evaluation criteria compared with a placebo, and in both cases, compared with established hospital care," it said in a statement.
Sanofi said neither it nor its American partner in developing the drug, Regeneron, "envisage further clinical tests of Kevzara for the treatment of COVID-19."
Although Kevzara "did not give us the results we were hoping for, we are proud of the work done by our team," Sanofi global research head Dr. John Reed said in the statement.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic late last year in China, it has claimed more than 800,000 lives and caused huge economic damage, sparking a global race to find a vaccine and effective treatments.
Sanofi is one of many companies developing a vaccine but scientists are cautious in saying that at best, one may only be available by the end of this year for initial use.
Meanwhile, Canada announced deals on Monday with US companies Novavax and Johnson & Johnson for millions doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccines.
The agreements bring the maximum vaccine doses that could be made available to Canadians to 190 million, after similar arrangements were made with Pfizer and Moderna.
The population of Canada is just under 38 million.
"We've looked to sign agreements with many different companies because we really don't know who will be first to develop a vaccine, and where it will come from," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference in Montreal.
"We need to be able to immunize as many Canadians as possible."
Also, students in face masks returned to class Tuesday in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged last year, as the city opened schools and kindergartens for the first time in seven months.
Nearly 1.4 million students resumed classes at some 2,800 kindergartens, primary and middle schools across the city, following the re-opening of high schools in May.
State media broadcast images of thousands of students hoisting the Chinese flag — a daily routine at all public schools — despite warnings to avoid mass gatherings.
Schools have drawn up plans to switch back to online teaching should new outbreaks emerge, city officials said last week.
Students were advised to wear masks to and from school and avoid public buses or trains if possible.
Schools were also ordered to conduct drills and training sessions to help prepare for new outbreaks.
Official figures show Wuhan accounted for 80 percent of China's more than 4,600 coronavirus-related deaths and was under a strict lockdown for more than two months from late January.
The city also conducted a mass testing campaign targeting ll million residents in May.
Novavax's NVX-CoV2373 vaccine candidate, which is in Phase 2 clinical trials, could be delivered in the second quarter of 2021, Ottawa and the company said in a joint statement. The agreement is for up to 76 million doses.
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to supply up to 38 million doses of its vaccine candidate Ad26.COV2.S, said another statement.
Pfizer and Moderna previously agreed to deliver, respectively, a minimum of 20 million doses and up to 50 million doses of their vaccines, now in final Phase 3 trials and among the most advanced in development.
The Novavax deal comes as the US government granted the Maryland-based firm US$1.6 billion to help fund development and manufacture of the vaccine, giving the US priority for the first 100 million doses.
Early tests showed its candidate was "generally well-tolerated" and elicited a "robust antibody response," Novavax said.
"We are moving forward with clinical development of NVX-CoV2373 with a strong sense of urgency in our quest to deliver a vaccine to protect the world," said company president Stanley Erck.
As of Monday, Canada reported nearly 128,000 cases of COVID-19 and some 9,150 deaths.