J&J to start Covid-19 vaccine trials by September 'at latest'

Johnson & Johnson expects to start human trials on a possible Covid-19 vaccine by September, the US healthcare giant announced on Monday.

In partnership with the US Department of Health and Human Services, Johnson & Johnson is committing more than $1bn of investment to "co-fund vaccine research, development and clinical testing". It is thought to be the largest investment in a vaccine to date.

Johnson & Johnson said it had identified a lead candidate for the possible vaccine based on constructs that its Janssen Pharmaceutical arm had been working on since January in collaboration with scientists at multiple academic institutions.

Human clinical studies on the candidate are now expected to get under by September "at the latest", with the first batch of a Covid-19 vaccine being available for emergency-use authorisation by "early 2021", assuming the trials prove successful.

Johnson & Johnson said it would also expand its global manufacturing capabilities, by opening a new facility for vaccine production in the US and by scaling up facilities overseas.

Alex Gorsky, chairman and chief executive, said Johnson & Johnson was "committed to doing our part to make a Covid-19 vaccine available and affordable".

He continued: "As the world’s largest healthcare company, we feel a deep responsibility to improve the health of people around the world every day. Johnson & Johnson is well position through our combination of scientific expertise, operational scale and the financial strength to bring our resources in collaboration with others to accelerate the fight against this pandemic."

Johnson & Johnson is working on the vaccine with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services.