Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate, which would only require a single dose, enters phase 3 trials, which would be large-scale involving 60,000 participants.
American pharmaceutical Johnson & Johnson has entered its potential COVID-19 vaccine to the last stage of clinical trials. Unlike the other immunization currently under development, the company’s version of the vaccine would only require a single-dose. Moreover, Johnson & Johnson belong to the top companies in the fast-track to test its possible coronavirus vaccine.
Fourth to Go Third Phase
Johnson & Johnson actually placed fourth among the US companies in sampling their potential vaccines. It only went behind Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, and AstraZeneca. Compared to other vaccine candidates, Johnson & Johnson would only need a single-shot, which could further speed up the test. With the other potential immunizations, two shots would prolong the time of trials as it requires weeks in between.
JUST IN: #JNJ has announced the start of our Phase 3 clinical trial for our investigational #COVID19 vaccine candidate. We are fully focused on developing a safe, effective and urgently-needed preventive solution for people around the world. Read more: https://t.co/gi5PpMMcgu pic.twitter.com/vx0tpuH6Tc
— Johnson & Johnson (@JNJNews) September 23, 2020
The company would have 60,000 adults participate in its third phase, coming from 215 locations all over the world. Particularly, the scaled-up trail will include participants from different countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and the US. According to the company’s chief scientific officer, it could take several weeks to two months to reach 60,000 participants.
Meanwhile, the company will conduct a separate trial in the UK for the two-doses version of its candidate vaccine.
Single-dose Caccine?
In a New York Times article, the West Virginia University vice chairwoman for research in medicine, Dr. Judith Feinberg, dubbed the single dosage as “fabulous.”
Furthermore, she said that tie is the real issue. For Dr. Fienberg, if the single-dose vaccine proved effective, it could significantly accelerate the fight against the Covid-19. She added, “We’ve got to vaccinate a lot of people really quickly.”
Race to Covid-19 Vaccine
For the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, it only took eight months since the discovery of the SARS-CoV-2, and four potential vaccines already entered Phase 3. He considers it an “unprecedented feat for the scientific community.”
Dr. Fauci said that the global need would require “multiple Covid-19 vaccine regimens.”
CNBC reported that Johnson and Johnson earlier announced that it expects to have the potential vaccine for emergency use authorization by early 2021.