Subscribe to our Newsletters !!
Climate change is very disruptive to the Amazon ra
Weigh bridges are tools which are mostly used in v
Insects that are given more attention and reverenc
Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited appoints Mr. Manis
The importance of comparing the treatment of asthm
It is important to understand that natural remedie
Dear Readers, Welcome to the latest issue of The Magazine
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine has produced a strong immune response against the novel coronavirus in an early-to-mid stage clinical trial, in accordance with the data published on September 25.
“The data demonstrate that a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Ad26.COV2.S, induced a powerful neutralising antibody response in nearly all participants aged 18 years and older and was normally well-tolerated,” J&J said, adding that the immune responses were similar across the age groups studied, including older adults.
Unlike the 3 vaccines developed by Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, and AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, that call for a re-visit and second shot three to four weeks after the first one to trigger a protective immune response, J&J will be initially testing a single dose.
The trial in close to 1,000 healthy adults, which is backed by the US government, began after the J&J vaccine was discovered in July to offer strong protection in one dose to monkeys.
Based on the current results, J&J on September 23 kicked off a final 60,000-person trial, which could pave the way for an application for regulatory approval. The company said it expects results of the Phase 3 trial by the end of the year or early next year.
“The trial will include those both with and without comorbidities associated with an increased risk for progression to acute COVID-19, and will aim to enrol participants in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and the USA,” Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.
The results, released on the medical site medRxiv, have not been peer-reviewed. Researchers, including those from J&J’s unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals, said 98 percent of participants with data available for the interim analysis had neutralizing antibodies, which shield cells from pathogens, 29 days after vaccination.
But, immune response results were available from only a small number of people – 15 participants – over 65 years old, limiting the interpretation.
In participants older than 65, the rate of adverse reactions such as fatigue and muscle aches was 36 percent, much lower than the 64 percent seen in younger participants, the results showed, suggesting the immune response in elderly people may not be as powerful.
The researchers said more details on safety and effectiveness will follow when the study is completed.
