Johnson & Johnson, a multinational medical device & pharmaceuticals company, has recently announced its plan to commence the human trial of a potential COVID-19 vaccine by the 2nd half of July 2020. The drug maker has been focusing on giving its contribution to the global fight against the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Additionally, J&J has inked deals with the U.S. government to enhance the manufacturing capacity to develop more than 1 billion vaccine doses prior to the confirmation of its effectiveness.

No COVID-19 vaccines or treatments have been approved across the globe to date. The company will primarily conduct a placebo-controlled trial to examine the safety and immune response of the vaccine among 1,045 healthy candidates aged between 18 to 55 years, including 65 years and older. This vaccine trial will be conducted in Belgium and the United States.

According to Paul Stoffels, Chief Scientific Officer of J&J, the acceleration of the company’s clinical development can be attributed to the preclinical data strength and its interactions with various regulatory bodies.

The drug maker is in talks with the NIAID (National Institutes of Allergy & Infectious Diseases) to initiate the late-stage studies ahead of schedule. This will be dependent on the regulatory approval and the results obtained from early trials.

Moderna Inc. is leading the vaccine development process for coronavirus and has begun testing its vaccine candidate in a mid-stage study among 600 patients. The company expects the commencement of the late-stage trials in July. Its vaccine adopts mRNA technology. On the other hand, J&J is deploying the same tech used in developing its Ebola vaccine.

Currently, there are around 10 vaccines for COVID-19 that are under the human trial phase. Experts have predicted that the development of an effective and safe vaccine could take nearly 12 to 18 months from the beginning of the development process.

Shares of J&J have recently been increased by 1.1% to $147.67.

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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/johnson-johnson-to-begin-human-trials-of-covid-19-vaccine-in-the-second-half-of-july/articleshow/76305716.cms