Johnson & Johnson set to begin crucial COVID-19 vaccine trial with 60,000 people
(Courtesy of Johnson & Johnson)
NEW YORK - Johnson & Johnson is set to start its Phase 3 clinical trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine in just a few weeks, according to The Canadian Press.
The company's Janssen Pharmaceutical is planning to recruit about 60,000 participants in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on Sept. 5, according to this filing on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Janssen has a deal with the U.S. government to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine, which is dubbed Ad26.COV2.S for now, for use in the U.S. if it proves effective in its trials.
"We greatly appreciate the U.S. government's confidence in, and support for, our R&D platform and efforts and the scalability of our vaccine technology," Johnson & Johnson's Dr. Paul Stoffels said in an Aug. 5 news release announcing the deal with the federal government. "We are scaling up production in the U.S. and worldwide to deliver a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for emergency use."
Several stock markets rose on Thursday after the news.