The Dutch will soon also be able to participate in tests of a possible corona vaccine. The pharmaceutical company Janssen Vaccines from Leiden will start a trial in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany in September.
Janssen has already started testing their vaccine on humans, but only in Belgium and the United States. In those countries, Janssen was relatively quickly allowed to test on test subjects. Meanwhile, there are no obstacles in the Netherlands to test the vaccine on humans, says research leader Hanneke Schuitemaker to News hour.
Smaller doses
In Belgium and the US, Janssen mainly tests whether the vaccine is safe and what the possible side effects are. The company wants to use the trial in the Netherlands to find out whether a ‘saving’ vaccine also works, so that less means may be needed to produce enough vaccines.
Schuitemaker: “In the study that is now underway, participants who receive two vaccinations receive the doses eight weeks apart. We think that you will get the best immune response. In September we will see whether it is possible with less vaccine and whether that interval can also be shorter. “
Not a leader
Janssen is not among the leaders in the race between the different corona vaccine developers. Four other pharmaceutical companies are already in phase 3, in which the potential vaccine is administered to much larger groups of people.
The Dutch government, together with three other European countries, has ordered three hundred million vaccines from the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The company hopes to have the first vaccines available by the end of this year.
Janssen does not expect to start phase 3 until October. Nevertheless, it makes sense for the Leiden company to continue testing, Schuitemaker emphasizes. “Only when we are at the finish line and we know which vaccines work will pharmacists have a hard time marketing their product.”
“The WHO predicts that it will take 14 billion doses to supply the world, so it is only right that many makers have stepped in to make a vaccine. Nine out of ten vaccines fail in the final stages of development, so it is certainly not yet done deal.”
This is one of the reasons why the EU and the Dutch government are also discussing possible orders with Janssen, says Schuitemaker. “We have not made reservations yet. The US government is investing in our development process, so we may give something back, but we will be producing a billion vaccines by the end of 2021, more than we will put there. We are making a vaccine to to make the world available. “
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