Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) – Get report He said Thursday that his developing coronavirus vaccine showed strong results in the first single-dose trials, and launched a study with human patients in the US and Belgium.
The US government-backed study, published in the journal Nature, showed that all monkeys exposed to the candidate virus were protected against infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The dose also elicited a “robust immune response,” with neutralizing antibodies, in non-human patients, Johnson & Johnson said.
“We are excited to see these preclinical data because they show that our SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate generated a strong antibody response and provided protection with a single dose,” said Dr. Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer for Johnson & Johnson. “The findings give us confidence as we move forward with the development of our vaccine and luxury manufacturing in parallel, having started a Phase 1 / 2a trial in July with the intention of moving to a Phase 3 trial in September. “
Johnson & Johnson shares were up 0.25% more in early trading after the study’s details were released to change hands at $ 146.95 each, a move that would push stocks into positive territory during the year.
The company said it will also conduct a study parallel to its single-dose human trials with a double-dose approach, and reiterated its goal of producing and supplying more than a billion doses of the vaccine, if it is approved. by regulators. – throughout 2021.
“As we collectively fight this pandemic, we remain deeply committed to our goal of providing a safe and effective vaccine to the world,” said Dr. Mathai Mammen, who heads Janssen Research & Development LLC of Johnson & Johnson. “Our preclinical results give us reason to be optimistic when we start our first human clinical trial, and we are excited to enter the next stage in our research and development towards a COVID-19 vaccine.”
“We know that, if successful, this vaccine can be rapidly developed, produced on a large scale and distributed worldwide,” he added.
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