Johnson & Johnson announced that it has begun development of a vaccine for the novel Coronavirus outbreak through its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies.
The company also plans to collaborate with others to screen a library of antiviral therapies. Identifying compounds with antiviral activity against 2019-nCoV may contribute to providing immediate relief to the current outbreak.
“This latest outbreak of a novel pathogen once again reinforces the importance of investing in preparedness, surveillance and response to ensure the world remains ahead of potential pandemic threats,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson.
The vaccine program will leverage Janssen’s AdVac and PER.C6 technologies that provide the ability to rapidly upscale production of the optimal vaccine candidate. These are the same technologies that were used in the development and manufacturing of Janssen’s investigational Ebola vaccine, which is currently deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. They were also used to construct the Company’s Zika, RSV and HIV vaccine candidates.
Johnson & Johnson’s multi-pronged approach also includes a review of known pathways in coronavirus pathophysiology to determine whether previously tested medicines can be used to help patients survive a 2019-nCoV infection and reduce the severity of disease in non-lethal cases. In addition, Janssen has donated 300 boxes of its HIV medication PREZCOBIX (darunavir/cobicistat) to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University for use in research to support efforts in finding a solution against the 2019-nCoV. Furthermore, another 50 boxes have been provided to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for laboratory-based investigations (drug-screening for antiviral properties against 2019-nCoV). All shipments have been delivered and, if further donations are required, the Company is open to cooperating with all healthcare institutions and agencies to support efforts in finding a solution against 2019-nCoV.
The requests from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University follow a recommendation from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences for investigation of 30 potentially effective compounds, including darunavir – the protease inhibitor component of PREZCOBIX – against 2019-nCoV. Based on anecdotal findings, a protease inhibitor has previously shown a potential favorable clinical response against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) associated coronavirus.
The World Health Organization has now confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV across mainland China, with cases also confirmed in countries and territories worldwide, including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S.A and Vietnam.
