Spain begins Phase 2 clinical trials for Johnson & Johnson vaccine
On Friday, Salvador Illa attended Moncloa, along with Margarita Robles, to make two important announcements about the coronavirus vaccine. Firstly, the Minister of Health confirmed that on Thursday the definitive contract with AstraZeneca was signed, which will allow Spain to receive the first doses, "if everything goes well", starting in December. But the most relevant news came next: the announcement of the first clinical trial of the anti-Covid vaccine in Spain during the next two months.
The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Healthcare Products has authorized the clinical trial of the Phase 2 vaccine of Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Belgian pharmaceutical company subsidiary of US corporation Johnson & Johnson, to be carried out in three Spanish hospitals: La Paz and La Princesa in Madrid, and the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital in Santander.
This test, which will only be conducted in three European countries - Spain, Germany and Belgium - "is possible because in the first phase 1, conducted in the United States and Belgium "no inverse reactions have been detected," said Illa. The Minister also confirmed that 550 healthy people will participate in the three countries. Of these, 190 in Spain from 18 to 55 years and over 65 years.
The laboratory of Janssen Pharmaceutical in Beerse, Belgium, where work is being done on the development of the vaccine against Covid-19.
The analyses are scheduled to start immediately, "today or next week", and to last two months. The objective of this trial, he added, is to "calibrate the differences between administering one or two doses", among other different scales.
The trial will have preliminary results, and will be followed by a phase 3: "We will see it in the next weeks or months," added Illa. In addition, he announced that the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products "maintains contact with other companies to make more scientific trials in our country".
Finally, regarding the future distribution of the vaccine, he explained that "the whole process continues to be channeled in Europe" and that "we have guarantees of an equitable distribution".