Months into the pandemic, more companies are entering the final stages of vaccine testing.
Just over the last few days, Novavax (NVAX) said it would start its Phase 3 trial among 30,000 people in the UK. In additional, a trial of 30,000 could begin in the U.S. if regulators are pleased with the safest of a Phase 2 trial under way at the moment, according to Barron’s.
The latest study in the UK will track whether adults receiving a two-dose vaccine see a lower rate of symptomatic COVID, as compared to those receiving the placebo.
Other than Novavax, Johnson & Johnson has Phase 3 trials under way, too.
The company expects results of its Phase 3 trials by the close of this year, or early 2021. If successful, it could manufacture up to a billion doses in the new year. In addition, unlike its competition, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine may only require one dose of the vaccine.
“The benefits of a single-shot vaccine are potentially profound in terms of mass immunization campaigns and global pandemic control,” Dr. Dan Barouch, a Harvard vaccine researcher who helped design J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine, as quoted by Reuters.
Others are Nearing a Potential Vaccine
Pfizer (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla just said there’s a “good chance” the company will know if its vaccine works by the end of October 2020.
The CEO told Face the Nation, “We started already manufacturing and we have already manufactured hundreds of thousands of doses, so just in case we have a good study readout, conclusive and FDA, plus the advisory committee feels comfortable that we will be ready.”
The company, along with BioNTech (BNTX) has already begun enrolling 30,000 people in its Phase 3 vaccine trial. However, it’s now looking to expand that enrollment to 40,000, as it attempts to expand to far more vulnerable populations.
And Eli Lilly is confident after its COVID-19 treatment reduced the hospitalization rate.
“The U.S. drug maker said it tested three different doses of LY-CoV555 against a placebo in a trial enrolling roughly 450 patients. The middle dose of 2,800 mg met the trial’s target of significantly reducing the presence of SARS-CoV-2 after 11 days,” said CNBC.
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