COVID-19 vaccine update: New data on Johnson & Johnson, Novavax candidates; Pfizer to expand production

Johnson & Johnson provided a concrete look at its COVID-19 vaccine candidate today, revealing that its efficacy is expected to be sufficient to pursue an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.

The drug maker said its single-shot candidate, which was developed in conjunction with Janssen, resulted in an overall 72% efficacy among U.S. patients and was 66% effective overall for patients enrolled in a phase 3 trial. Additionally, the candidate was shown to be 85% effective in preventing severe COVID-19, those cases that result in hospitalization or death. The vaccine is estimated to remain stable for two years at -20 degrees Celsius, at least three months of which can be held at temperatures of 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

Johnson & Johnson said it intends to file for an EUA from the FDA in early February. Upon authorization, Johnson & Johnson is contracted to supply the U.S. 100 million doses by June. The AHA will provide more pertaining to storage, handling and administration of the vaccine if and when the vaccine receives an EUA.

Meanwhile, Novavax yesterday said its NVX-CoV2373 candidate demonstrated an 89.3% efficacy during a phase 3 trial in the United Kingdom. The data was culled from a period of high transmission and during the emergence of the UK variant strain.

Novavax is the recipient of one of the largest U.S. federal government vaccine investments, receiving $1.6 billion from Operation Warp Speed in exchange for 100 million doses of its vaccine.

In addition, Sanofi and Novartis announced initial agreements to support production of the Pfizer vaccine using their own existing infrastructure.