J&J, Sanofi, Inovio Hunt for Coronavirus Vaccines
February 24 2020 - 4:52PM
Dow Jones News
By Peter Loftus
Drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi SA and Inovio
Pharmaceuticals Inc. have started to develop coronavirus vaccines,
and human studies of them could start in anywhere from a few months
to about a year from now. The efforts come as Moderna Inc. has
shipped a batch of its experimental coronavirus vaccine to U.S.
researchers for human testing.
J&J is using a vaccine technology that transmits the genetic
code of the virus in a noninfectious carrier virus. J&J expects
to begin human testing in about eight to 12 months, Chief
Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said.
Inovio's vaccine contains DNA with the genetic code of the
virus, and the company was able to design it within hours of
learning the genetic sequence in January, said Chief Executive
Joseph Kim. Inovio, working with the Wistar Institute in
Philadelphia and two other companies, expects to begin human
testing in a few months.
Sanofi will use a technology known as recombinant DNA, which
involves developing a genetic match to proteins on the virus, to
produce a vaccine. Sanofi, which is collaborating with the U.S.
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, expects to
start human testing in a year to 18 months.
More vaccine programs are on the horizon. The Norway-based
Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations received about 48
applications for funding to develop coronavirus vaccines from
companies, academic-research institutes and other groups around the
world, said CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett. The nonprofit, which
previously provided funding to drugmaker Moderna and some other
vaccine projects, expects to fund some of these newer proposals, he
said.
"We want to move fast," Dr. Hatchett said. "We want to have
technologies that have the potential to scale up to tens of
millions or even hundreds of millions of doses, and we want to
develop our program in a way to ensure equitable access."
Write to Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 24, 2020 16:37 ET (21:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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