Sanofi commits to developing Zika vax while other big players will evaluate

Sanofi ($SNY) says it intends to apply its decades of vaccine development work and manufacturing expertise in dengue fever to try to create a vaccine for Zika virus, the mosquito-borne disease that the World Health Organization this week called a global health emergency. The other large vaccine makers have committed to at least evaluating whether they might be able to respond. GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) Pfizer ($PFE), Merck ($MRK), Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) and Takeda all followed Sanofi's announcement by saying that they'd look into their existing vaccines and technologies for the potential to create a Zika vaccine. Sanofi and GSK have expertise with vaccines for mosquito-borne diseases. GSK has an approved jab for malaria and Sanofi is rolling out its vaccine for dengue fever. More from FierceVaccines