EC strikes deal for supply of JNJ-78436735 Covid-19 vaccine candidate

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said that the European Commission (EC) has approved an advance purchase agreement for securing 200 million doses of the JNJ-78436735 Covid-19 vaccine candidate (Ad26.COV2.S) developed by its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies.

Currently, the JNJ-78436735 vaccine candidate is being evaluated in the phase 3 ENSEMBLE Covid-19 vaccine trial across certain countries.

The supply to the European Union (EU) member states will begin after approval or authorization of the coronavirus vaccine candidate from regulators. The EU member states also have the option to procure up to an additional 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Paul Stoffels – Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson & Johnson said: “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten communities worldwide and we have a responsibility to ensure access to our COVID-19 vaccine as soon as we can. We appreciate the Commission’s and the Member States’ support for our COVID-19 vaccine candidate and development efforts.”

Johnson & Johnson said that the contract is the result of the conclusion of exploratory talks with the European Commission. The US healthcare giant is in ongoing talks with other stakeholders that include national governments and global organizations for making its JNJ-78436735 Covid-19 vaccine candidate accessible across the world once it is proven to have a good safety profile, is efficacious, and approved or authorized by regulators.