British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline and German biotech firm CureVac have announced plans to jointly develop a coronavirus vaccine with the potential to counter multi-variants of Covid-19.

“The development programme will begin immediately, with the target of introducing the vaccine in 2022, subject to regulatory approval,” a joint statement said.

GSK will also support the manufacture this year of up to 100 million doses of CureVac's first generation Covid-19 vaccine, it added.

The collaboration, building on an existing relationship, is to develop next generation Covid-19 vaccines “with the potential for a multi-valent approach to address multiple emerging variants in one vaccine," Reuters reported.