SANOFI PASTEUR SA

Their core work

Sanofi Pasteur is the vaccines division of Sanofi, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, headquartered in Lyon, France. They develop, manufacture, and distribute vaccines against a broad range of infectious diseases including influenza, RSV, pertussis, HIV, and Clostridium difficile. In H2020, they contribute industry-scale clinical expertise, manufacturing know-how, and real-world epidemiological data to large public-private research consortia focused on vaccine development, effectiveness monitoring, and disease burden assessment across Europe.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2016–2018, Sanofi Pasteur's H2020 engagement centred on foundational vaccine science: HIV vaccine platforms (EHVA), pertussis pathogenesis and biomarker discovery (PERISCOPE), vaccine manufacturing quality (VAC2VAC), and early RSV epidemiology (RESCEU). From 2019 onward, the focus shifted decisively toward public health impact — vaccination in elderly populations (VITAL), cost-benefit modelling, communication strategies, and RSV immunisation preparedness (PROMISE). The most recent project, Inno4Vac (2021), signals a return to manufacturing innovation, now augmented by AI and in vitro modelling.

Sanofi Pasteur is moving from basic vaccine R&D toward real-world impact assessment, health economics, and AI-driven manufacturing — suggesting future collaborations will emphasize translational and deployment-stage research.

How they like to work

Sanofi Pasteur operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator, across all 9 H2020 projects — consistent with a large industry partner contributing proprietary data, clinical infrastructure, and manufacturing expertise to academically-led consortia. With 155 unique partners across 24 countries, they are deeply embedded in Europe's vaccine research network. Their preference for large IMI-style public-private partnerships (8 RIA + 1 IMI2-RIA) indicates they favour structured, multi-partner frameworks where industry and academia share pre-competitive knowledge.

Sanofi Pasteur has collaborated with 155 distinct partners across 24 countries, making them one of the most broadly connected vaccine industry players in H2020. Their network spans the full European vaccine research ecosystem — from academic hospitals and public health institutes to regulatory bodies and other pharma companies.

What sets them apart

Sanofi Pasteur brings something few academic partners can: industrial-scale vaccine manufacturing experience combined with access to proprietary clinical and epidemiological datasets. Their consistent participation across the entire vaccine lifecycle — from pathogen biology (PERISCOPE) through manufacturing (VAC2VAC, Inno4Vac) to public health deployment (VITAL, PROMISE) — makes them a uniquely comprehensive industry partner. For consortium builders, they offer credibility with regulators and the practical perspective of a company that actually produces and distributes vaccines globally.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RESCEU
  Major IMI2 consortium that built Europe's foundational RSV epidemiological evidence base, directly feeding into RSV vaccine approval decisions.
• Inno4Vac
  Their most recent and longest-running project (2021–2027), combining AI, controlled human infection models, and advanced manufacturing — signals their future research direction.
• EHVA
  The only project where Sanofi Pasteur received recorded EC funding (EUR 50,000), and a flagship EU platform for HIV vaccine discovery spanning 7 years.