Sales of Doliprane — paracetamol which can alleviate the fever and aches associated with the virus — shot up by more than 20%, helping boost the firm’s net sales by 6.9% to nearly €9 billion.

“Covid-19 stocking in channels explains about half of company sales growth in Q1,” the company said in a statement.

The company also credited sales of Dupixent, a treatment for atopic dermatitis and asthma, which soared by nearly 130%.

Sanofi said its net income grew by 15.9% over the first three months of 2020, with “roughly half of this growth due to Covid-19 impact.”

The Paris-based pharma giant has also started collaborations to work on a coronavirus vaccine that is hoped will enter clinical trials this year, potentially making it available in the second half of 2021.

Meanwhile, it has launched two studies into whether hydroxychloroquine, a drug for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus which Sanofi sells under the brand name Plaquenil, can be an effective treatment for coronavirus patients.

More than 190,000 people have died — including almost 22,000 in France — and nearly 2,700,000 been infected since the virus emerged in China in December.