Sanofi launches hunt for Zika vaccine as disease fears grow

Paris

FRENCH drugmaker Sanofi has launched a project to develop a vaccine against the Zika virus in the most decisive commitment yet by a major vaccine producer to fight the disease linked to multiple birth defects in Brazil.

The company said on Tuesday that its Sanofi Pasteur vaccines division would use its expertise in developing vaccines for similar viruses such as yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis and, most recently, dengue.