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GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – Get report It said Thursday it launched late-stage trials for its coronavirus vaccine candidate in development with a study base of more than 30,000 participants.
GlaxoSmithKline, together with its Canadian partner, private company Medicago, will evaluate the efficacy of its plant-based vaccine candidate, VIR-7831, in Canada and the United States in a phase 3 study that it hopes to launch before the end of the year. The couple said the phase 1 studies were “very encouraging” and provided more than enough support for further clinical evaluation.
“This is the first of several GSK COVID-19 vaccine candidate collaborations to initiate phase 2/3 clinical trials and an important step forward in our contribution to the global fight against the pandemic,” said GlaxoSmithKline Medical Director, Thomas Breuer. “We are delighted with the very promising results of Medicago’s Phase 1 COVID-19 vaccine candidate in combination with GSK’s pandemic adjuvant.”
“The proven dose savings and a high immune response due to the GSK adjuvant give us the confidence to deliver an effective vaccine with an acceptable safety profile in collaboration with Medicago,” he added.
GlaxoSmithKline shares traded in the US scored 2.7% lower in pre-market trading on the Nasdaq to indicate an opening price of $ 38.11 each.
GlaxoSmithKline’s Phase 3 release followed an update from Moderna Inc. (MRNA) – Get report Wednesday night in the latest state trials of its ‘messenger RNA’ vaccine candidate, which Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, hinted could be as effective as Pfizer’s vaccine (PFE) – Get report, which was 90% effective in a study of more than 45,000 participants.
The World Health Organization says that around 150 potential vaccines are currently under some type of study, with 34 active human trials taking place from Russia to Bahrain.
Several American companies are also on the hunt, including Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Get report, Novavax (NVAX) – Get report and Pfizer, which said earlier this week that it could apply for emergency use approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this month, with the goal of providing about 1.3 billion doses of its BNT162 vaccine by the end of next year.
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