Johnson & Johnson Moves to Battle Coronavirus

By Chris Wack

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said Wednesday it is mobilizing resources at its Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. to launch a multi-pronged response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, also known as 2019-nCoV.

The company said it has begun efforts to develop a vaccine candidate against 2019-nCoV and broadly collaborate with others to screen a library of antiviral therapies. The company said identifying compounds with antiviral activity against 2019-nCoV may contribute to providing immediate relief to the current outbreak.

Johnson & Johnson said the vaccine program will use Janssen's AdVac and PER.C6 technologies, which will provide the ability to rapidly upscale production of the optimal vaccine candidate. The company used the same technologies in the development and manufacturing of Janssen's investigational Ebola vaccine, which is currently deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

Janssen has donated 300 boxes of its HIV medication Prezcobix darunavir/cobicistat to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University for use in research to support efforts in finding a solution against the 2019-nCoV. Another 50 boxes have been provided to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for laboratory-based investigations.

The World Health Organization has now confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV across mainland China, with cases also confirmed in countries and territories worldwide, including Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam.

Write to Chris Wack at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 29, 2020 09:27 ET (14:27 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.