Janssen clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine set this week — DOST
MANILA, Philippines — Clinical trials for Janssen Pharmaceutical's candidate vaccine for the coronavirus are expected to begin any time this week, Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said Thursday.
The Belgium-based drugmaker owned by the US corporation Johnson & Johnson secured the Food and Drug Administration's approval for the tests in late December of last year.
It is among the three developers cleared to conduct the move months since the pandemic reached the Philippines, along with the Chinese-made Sinovac and Clover.
"Mukhang mauuna ang Janssen at within this week ay maguumpisa na sila," De la Peña said in a Laging Handa briefing. "'Yun namang iba pa, Sinovac at itong Clover either February or March."
(It looks as if Janssen will be the first and is set by this week. The others, Sinovac and Clover, are scheduled either this February or March.)
Among the COVID-19 jabs developed across the world, Janssen's vaccine is taken at a single dose with the pharmaceutical reporting 66% efficacy rate, 28 days after the inoculation.
In the same briefing, De la Peña refused to disclose the final locations of where the Janssen trials would be held. But in a briefing last month, the DOST said target sites are: San Pablo and Cabuyao in Laguna, Makati, La Paz in Iloilo, Bacolod City and Metro Manila.
Sinovac and Clover were also eyed in cities in the National Capital Region along with Calamba and Alaminos in Laguna as well as Dasmariñas in Cavite. Both jabs were cleared for clinical trials also in January of this year.
De la Peña said sites are selected based on areas with consistent high COVID-19 incident rates two weeks before the trials are done.
As for the solidarity trial of the World Health Organization which the Philippines would be participating in, he said they are set to met with WHO officials on Friday for a "more definite news" on the global initiative.
"Itong paggawa ng vaccine clincial trials sa atin, makatutulong pareho sa kanila na developers kasi malalaman nila kung makadadagdag ito sa kanilang data sa efficacy," the science chief said. "At sa atin naman, makabubuti rin kasi malalaman natin ang epekto sa Pilipino."
(These vaccine clinical trials would be beneficial for developers as it would expand their data on efficacy and we would know the jabs' effects on Filipinos.)
The clinical trial efforts are different from the vaccines which were given emergency use authorization from the FDA. To date, local regulators have so far approved for EUA vaccines by the American-led Pfizer and British-Swedish drugmaker's AstraZeneca, which are also eyed to arrive this month. — Christian Deiparine
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