Here’s a new development in the scenario. The in research vaccine for covid19 by the largest pharmaceutical company in the world will be going under clinical trials. Johnson & Johnson said this Monday it could have a Covid-19 vaccine available for emergency use early next year and it would begin manufacturing the vaccine immediately.
Though not a major vaccine maker, Johnson & Johnson was among the first companies to announce a Covid-19 vaccine development program back in January. Now, the company said its program has developed a candidate vaccine and two backup candidates. It plans to begin the human trials in September.
Shares jumped by 8%
The pharma company said it planned to make the vaccine available “on a not-for-profit basis.” And yet, shares of the company jumped 8% on Monday as the S&P 500 gained 3.35% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.19%. Johnson & Johnson is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world.
“The world is facing an urgent public health crisis and we are committed to doing our part to make a Covid-19 vaccine available and affordable globally as quickly as possible,”
Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky
The company mentioned that they’ll be increasing their manufacturing capacity and setting up new vaccine manufacturing capabilities inside the U.S. It said it aimed to manufacture a billion doses and that it had already begun making the vaccine so it could be ready if it is proven to work.
Johnson & Johnson will be collaborating with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which is a government agency that funds the development of certain categories of drugs. The authority and the company have jointly committed to spend $1 billion on vaccine research, and a separate funding partnership to find antivirals to treat Covid-19.
A widely available, safe, effective vaccine for Covid-19 will dramatically transform how health authorities are dealing with the virus. Although we are widely unclear on how widely available the vaccine would be since the vaccine would be under an emergency use authorization. Last week, the biotech firm Moderna, which is also developing a Covid-19 vaccine, said it was possible a vaccine could be made available for health workers by this fall, though the company didn’t offer further details on the assertion.
Health authorities and public-health experts have generally offered a 12- to an 18-month timeline for a Covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, some analysts have argued that a vaccine might not be a permanent remedy.
It was possible a new vaccine would be needed every two years or regular boosters of the same vaccine.
Bernstein analyst Wimal Kapadia
Since the virus mutates rapidly the vaccines won’t be a permanent solution for this pandemic but is certainly a relief.
Developing a vaccine would be significantly more challenging if the virus is changing fast enough to cause true reinfections and would undermine the immunity patients develop from natural infections. Based on our initial read, our assumption here is that immunity lasts for 2 years and that the virus does not mutate significantly meaning a vaccine with regular boosters (not just in high risk patients), could be the outcome.”
Bernstein analyst Wimal Kapadia
