Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson ended development of an experimental vaccine after it failed to adequately protect against an invasive form of the digestive pathogen E. coli.

A year and a half after Sanofi swooped in on Johnson & Johnson’s dismantled vaccines unit to pick up an E. coli candidate, the asset has failed its phase 3 trial. | A year and a half after Sanofi swooped in on Johnson & Johnson’s dismantled vaccines unit to pick up an E.

Johnson & Johnson and partner Sanofi will stop a late-stage trial of an experimental vaccine to prevent infections caused by the E.coli bacteria due to a lack of sufficient efficacy, the companies said on Thursday.

The French drugmaker said the vaccine it agreed to develop with Johnson & Johnson a year ago was “not sufficiently effective.”

French pharma major Sanofi’s saw its shares edge up 1% by early afternoon, despite announcing a disappointment for a vaccine it it developing that will results in a significant impairment charge.

Due to the discontinuation, Sanofi said that it has recorded an impairment charge before tax of $250 million in the Q4 2024 IFRS results. It will further negatively impact the full-year IFRS EPS reported in the Q4 2024 results by €0.15 from €4.59 previously to €4.44 now, according to the company's statement.

The company said it will stop the Phase III trial of ExPEC after interim results found it failed to demonstrate efficacy over placebo.