Johnson & Johnson could apply for a single dose emergency COVID-19 vaccine within a few weeks, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House adviser, said.
The company, based in New Brunswick, is in a Phase 3 clinical trial known as ‘Ensemble’.
“I would think that the data would not be analyzed in the same way more than two weeks from now, as we analyzed it with the Moderna and the Pfizer candidate,” Fauci said on MSNBC ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ on Friday said. ‘This is an independent data and security monitoring board that will examine the data, determine if it is ready. They can go to the FDA and ask if they can get an authorization for emergency use.
“You know, I do not want to come out in front of them, but I have to tell you, I would be surprised if the data is analyzed in two weeks and decisions are made.”
The pharmaceutical giant then hopes to deliver 100 million doses to the US by April, Johnson & Johnson board member Dr. Mark McClellan told CNBC.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
The single-dose vaccine may be a game changer. The vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna require two doses. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine candidate, on the other hand, is a single-dose shot that does not require special freezers. Pfizer’s vaccination requires ultra-cold storage.
The demand for vaccines still outweighs the supply in New Jersey and elsewhere. Officials are eagerly awaiting the approval of the Johnson & Johnson candidate, especially after Merck recently gave up two potential coronavirus vaccines in Kenilworth, according to The Associated Press. The hope was dashed after poor results emerged in early studies. The company is moving to two potential treatments for COVID-19.
Johnson & Johnson will need permission from the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use before its vaccine can be distributed.
“This is really good news … because it would be – if it does get authorized for emergency use – again a candidate who does have a difference,” Fauci said. “And it’s good because it offers a wider range of flexibility.”
According to the state dashboard, New Jersey administered 565,401 doses of the coronavirus vaccine. More than 492,000 were first dose shots and 72,700 were boosters. The state has received nearly 1 million doses from the federal government, according to a running version of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Although the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have flattened, New Jersey has reported 598,660 confirmed cases since its first positive test on March 4th. The state suffered nearly 21,000 deaths, including 1,869 in January, as the country nears another serious milestone: 500,000 deaths.
The potential vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson’s Belgian division, Janssen Pharmaceutica, differs from the Pfizer and Moderna shots, which use mRNA technology.
Johnson & Johnson uses an adenovirus – a type of virus that causes colds – that cannot be repeated, ‘says Dr. Mathai Mammen, head of Janssen Research & Development at Johnson & Johnson, in a statement on the company’s website.
‘The adenovirus carries a gene from the coronavirus into human cells, which then produces the coronavirus peak protein, but not the coronavirus itself. This vein protein is what the immune system uses to fight a subsequent infection by the virus. ‘
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Spencer Kent can be reached at [email protected].