© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Johnson & Johnson company offices in Irvine, California, U.S., October 14, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/
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(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) said it will discontinue the late-stage study of its experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for adults, weeks after rivals Pfizer and GSK gained the upper hand in the race for the first vaccine against the virus.
J&J made the decision to “focus on drugs with the greatest potential benefit to patients,” the company said Wednesday.
The drugmaker, which began the global study in 2021 in more than 27,000 adults 60 and older, did not provide further details about the trial.
There is currently no approved vaccine to prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in older adults. It is responsible for 14,000 annual deaths in adults 65 and older in the United States, according to government data.
RSV vaccines from Pfizer Inc (NYSE:) and GSK won endorsement from a US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel in late February and early March, bringing them one step closer to approval in the United States. The health regulator is expected to decide on the two vaccines by May.
Pfizer and GSK are in a tight race to access the RSV vaccine market, which is estimated to be worth more than $5 billion and could exceed $10 billion by 2030, according to analysts.
J&J’s late-stage study was conducted at more than 300 sites in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Chile, Brazil and China, among other countries, according to a government registry of clinical trials.
The company said it plans to share the results of the late-stage study with the scientific community.
J&J began the study following positive results from a mid-stage trial, which showed the vaccine was 80% effective in protecting against RSV lower respiratory tract disease.
Shares of the company rose nearly 1% to $153.08 on Wednesday.
