Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY)(EURONEXT: SAN) Pasteur, biopharmaceutical company Sanofi's global vaccines business unit, is utilising earlier development work for a SARS vaccine that could reveal a fast path forward for developing a COVID-19 vaccine, it was reported on Tuesday.

Sanofi is collaborating with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, to expand its long-standing collaboration with BARDA.

Sanofi is using its recombinant DNA platform to produce a 2019 novel coronavirus vaccine candidate. The recombinant technology develops an exact genetic match to proteins found on the surface of the virus. The DNA sequence encoding this antigen will be integrated into the DNA of the baculovirus expression platform, the basis of Sanofi's licensed recombinant influenza product, and utilised to rapidly produce large quantities of the coronavirus antigen, which will be formulated to stimulate the immune system to protect against the virus.

'Addressing a global health threat such as this newest coronavirus is going to take a collaborative effort, which is why we are working with BARDA to quickly advance a potential vaccine candidate,' said David Loew, global head of vaccines at Sanofi. 'While we are lending our expertise where possible, we believe the collaboration with BARDA may provide the most meaningful results in protecting the public from this latest outbreak.'