J&J Starts COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

Johnson & Johnson announced the start of an early-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S.

The phase 1/2 trial in the U.S. and Belgium will include more than 1,000 healthy adults aged 18 to 55 and aged 65 and older along with a phase 1 trial in Japan, and a phase 2 trial in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany.

Ad26.COV2.S is derived from a common cold virus that is modified to carry a gene from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine generated neutralizing antibodies in animal testing. — Jordan Williams