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MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s drug agency on Wednesday authorized the launch of late-stage trials of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, as the race to develop successful vaccines intensifies.
The phase III trial of the two-dose vaccination will be carried out in nine hospitals throughout Spain in volunteers with and without previous health problems, the AEMPS agency reported in a statement.
J&J began mid-stage phase II trials in Spain and other countries in September and launched a late-stage trial in Britain on Monday.
Phase III trials will be conducted with 30,000 volunteers in nine countries.
The two-dose study will run in parallel with a trial of a single-injection regimen with 60,000 participants that was launched in September.
The Spanish hospitals involved in the trials will recruit volunteers as soon as possible, said the AEMPS, adding that 20% will be under 40 and 30% over 60.
They will be given a first dose of a placebo or the experimental injection, currently called Ad26COV2, followed by a second dose or a placebo later.
The conclusions will only be available after analyzing the data at the end of the trials, the Spanish drug agency said.
The news comes after Pfizer and BioNTech, Russia and Moderna released interim data from phase III trials of their potential vaccines showing efficacy of over 90%, raising hopes that pandemic disease vaccines are ready for use soon.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Josephine Mason and David Clarke)
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