Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine generated a lasting immune response to the deadly error in an early-stage clinical trial, the pharmaceutical giant said.
More than 90 percent of the 805 study participants had neutralizing antibodies that offer protection against COVID-19 29 days after receiving a single dose of the vaccine, the New Jersey-based drug maker said Wednesday.
Antibodies remained for at least 71 days among participants between the ages of 18 and 55, according to provisional results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. J&J said it will have data later this month on the durability of immunity in people over 65.
Early data showed signs of promise for Johnson & Johnson’s unique vaccine, even when the company reported it produced the inoculations.
J&J said it expects to announce the results of its key phase-in vaccine trial later this month. It will then ask the Food and Drug Administration to remove the shot for emergency use if the data proves to be safe and effective.
Early safety data showed that people who had reactions to the vaccine generally improved within 24 hours, the company said. The most common side effects were headache, muscle aches, fatigue, and pain at the injection site.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is different from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that are distributed nationwide.
Vaccines from the latter companies require two doses and use genetic material called messenger RNA to direct the body to create a small amount of coronavirus tip proteins, eliciting an immune response. Johnson & Johnson’s requires only one dose and provides the top proteins through a common cold virus that cannot infect the receptor.
J&J also studied a two-dose regimen of its vaccine and found that the second dose, with a 56-day separation, “triggered more than a double increase in antibodies against COVID-19,” the company said. .
Shares of Johnson & Johnson jumped 1.7 percent in premarket trading on Thursday to $ 160.68 as of 7:42 a.m.