(Photo: jnj.com)

Johnson & Johnson working towards finding a vaccine for coronavirus

President Donald Trump signs a $456 million contract with Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceuticals sector, Janssen, for a new vaccine against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and breaks the record for the largest amount to fund a vaccine project. The contract with Janssen signed on March 20 ordered $150 million for a “new antiviral” for the coronavirus while The Health and Human Service Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) signed the deal on March 27.

This multi-million dollar contract is working in partnership with the ASPR’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) which was announced back in February. Reports indicate Johnson & Johnson has yet to start any clinical trials for the new vaccine and the framework is built on previous contracts working with countermeasures for other influenzas.

This contract is forming a deal between Johnson & Johnson with the U.S. government to co-invest $1 billion for COVID-19 vaccine clinical testing, researching, and development. Johnson & Johnson announced earlier in March they’ll be working with Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical center to develop a preventative vaccine for COVID-19 using the same technologies used for HIV, Ebola, and Zika vaccines.

Johnson & Johnson is expecting to start clinical trials for humans by September 2020, with the first batches of the vaccine to be available in 2021 for emergency use.