Human testing of coronavirus vaccine to start by September, says J&J

Coronavirus chronicle

Reuters
30 March, 2020, 06:35 pm
Last modified: 30 March, 2020, 06:37 pm
Global efforts are underway to develop a vaccine for the virus that has killed over 34,000 worldwide
FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Johnson & Johnson is displayed on a screen to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the company's listing at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 17, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Johnson & Johnson plans to start human testing of its experimental coronavirus vaccine by September and make it ready for emergency use in early 2021, the drugmaker said on Monday.

J&J also committed more than $1 billion of investment along with US agency Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to co-fund vaccine research, expanding a previous collaboration.

Global efforts are underway to develop a vaccine for the virus that has killed over 34,000 worldwide, but experts have cautioned it could take over a year to have a vaccine ready.

A patient was dosed with Moderna Inc's vaccine in an early-stage trial earlier this month, making it the front-runner in the race to develop a viable vaccine.

J&J said in January it had begun working on a possible vaccine for the coronavirus, using the same technologies used to make its experimental Ebola vaccine.

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