J&J, HHS sign expanded deal to find COVID-19 vaccine
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) unit Janssen has expanded an existing R&D agreement with the US Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS) as part of efforts to speed up the development of an investigational vaccine for the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
The company’s previously-announced plans to develop a COVID-19 vaccine have been given a boost after it was confirmed it would have the support of the HSS’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The two have previously collaborated on development of Janssen’s investigational Ebola vaccine, which is currently being used to help deal with an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An investigational vaccine is an experimental drug which is developed and studied to determine whether it is safe and effective to go into full production.
Janssen and HHS will share further costs and expertise to help fight the coronavirus, which emerged in China and has already infected more than 60,000 people. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the viral outbreak a global public health emergency as it has now spread to more than 20 countries.
Janssen had previously said that it would review known pathways in coronavirus pathophysiology to determine whether previously-tested medicines can be used to treat the new disease.
Janssen will also work on the scale-up of production and manufacturing capacities required to manufacture the candidate vaccine.
“When it comes to infectious diseases, vaccines are the backbone of the public health response,” said Rick Bright, director of BARDA.
Bright said that Janssen was a “proven partner with a flexible, rapid, vaccine platform which gives us an edge in the race to protect people in the US and worldwide from the health security threat posed by this novel coronavirus”.
“With emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19, speed is crucial to saving lives and reducing further spread of the virus,” he added.
The existing BARDA and Janssen partnership has also supported development of other products, including a treatment for blood injuries caused by acute levels of radiation and a treatment for injuries caused by inhaled sulfur mustard.
There is currently no approved vaccine, treatment, or diagnostic for novel coronavirus infections, although the the US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorisation (EUA) to enable emergency use of a diagnostic test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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