The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to add a new layer to its relationship with Janssen Research & Development as part of efforts to contain COVID-19 — the 2019 novel coronavirus — through shared R&D costs on the company’s investigational vaccine.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will take the lead in the relationship with Janssen while the company works to scale-up production and manufacturing capacities to produce the vaccine. A similar approach was used in the creation of Janssen’s recent investigational Ebola vaccine, which has been deployed to an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“When it comes to infectious diseases, vaccines are the backbone of the public health response,” Dr. Rick Bright, BARDA Director, said. “With emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19, speed is crucial to saving lives and reducing further spread of the virus. Janssen is a proven partner with a flexible, rapid, vaccine platform which gives us an edge in the race to protect people in the U.S. and worldwide from the health security threat posed by this novel coronavirus.”
No approved vaccine, treatment, or diagnostics for novel coronavirus infections exist. Still, emergency use of a diagnostic test by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was provided under an emergency use authorization issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this month.