Johnson & Johnson Expands Collaboration with U.S. Government Agency to Accelerate Development of Coronavirus Vaccine

Compiled by newborn

Johnson & Johnson announced on Wednesday that its Janssen Pharmaceuticals has expanded its collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to further accelerate its investigational coronavirus vaccine program.

Late last month, Johnson & JohnsonJohnson & Johnson Announces Entry into the Fight Against the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The company stated that it is mobilizing resources from Janssen Pharmaceuticals to launch multiple initiatives in response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. As part of these efforts, Janssen has begun developing a candidate vaccine against coronaviruses and is engaging in extensive, close collaboration with global partners to screen its antiviral molecular library, thereby accelerating the identification of compounds with antiviral activity against COVID-19.

According to the announcement released by Johnson & Johnson at the end of last month, the company’s response plan also includes reviewing known pathways in the pathogenesis of coronavirus infection to determine whether previously tested drugs can be used to help patients resist coronavirus infection and reduce the severity of non-fatal cases. In addition, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical subsidiary in China, has donated a total of 300 boxes of the anti-HIV drug Prezista® (darunavir/cobicistat tablets) to Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University for experimental clinical treatment. Meanwhile, Janssen Pharmaceuticals also donated 50 boxes of Prezista® to the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for laboratory research on combating the novel coronavirus.

The collaboration with BARDA will accelerate Janssen’s vaccine program, but the fundamental scope of the project remains unchanged, with the focus still on leveraging Janssen’s AdVac® adenoviral vector platform and/or PER.C6® production cell line technology to rapidly develop a vaccine capable of protecting people against COVID-19 infection. Janssen’s vaccine technology enables the rapid scale-up manufacturing of optimal vaccine candidates. This technology was previously used to develop and produce Janssen’s investigational Ebola vaccine, which has currently been deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and has also been utilized by the company to develop candidate vaccines for Zika virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and HIV/AIDS.

Under the agreement, Janssen and BARDA will jointly mobilize funding and resources to accelerate the advancement of candidate vaccines into Phase I clinical development. Once the vaccine enters clinical trials, BARDA will provide additional funding to further its development. Meanwhile, Janssen will strive to enhance production and manufacturing capabilities to meet public health needs. Janssen will also seek support from other partners to broaden vaccine access and address the needs of communities worldwide.

Reference Source: J&J allies with BARDA to accelerate coronavirus vaccine program