Hope for deal on one-jab Janssen coronavirus vaccine

The Morrison government is in talks with Janssen for a COVID-19 vaccine supply deal.

Scott Morrison announced clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Queensland in partnership with biotech company CSL will be abandoned. Picture: Getty Images

Australians could soon have access to a one-jab COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Janssen.

The Weekend Australian can confirm the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical subsidiary is negotiating with the Morrison government on an advance purchase agreement.

If a deal is struck with Janssen it will give Australians another vaccination option after the home grown University of Queensland-CSL project for 51 million doses was abandoned on Friday.

Janssen’s viral vector vaccine is one of three candidates granted a priority pathway to approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

In the past week Janssen began a rolling submission of clinical tests to the regulator, with the company expecting interim results of phase 3 trials next month.

Along with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, the two leading global vaccine candidates, Janssen is now eligible to apply for provisional registration on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

Australia has supply deals with AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Novavax.

The Janssen candidate, which has been sold to the US, UK, EU countries and Canada and has an in-principle supply agreement with New Zealand, provides another option for Australia, with the one-dose feature viewed as an advantage.

“We are in ongoing discussions with national governments, including the Australian Government and global organisations, and are committed to making our COVID-19 vaccine accessible globally,” a spokeswoman for Janssen Australia and New Zealand said

Janssen said its “Phase 3 studies are continuing to progress and we anticipate we may have interim data available some time in January.

“We will continue to work in close collaboration with the TGA to complete the rolling review process.

“Our ultimate goal is to develop a single-dose vaccine that is safe and effective and made accessible at a global not for profit price during the emergency pandemic period”.

Last week Adjunct Professor John Skerritt, a deputy secretary in the Department of Health with direct responsibility for the TGA, noted vaccines could also be made available to Australians for private sale.

“Remember, there’s a private market for those who wish to invest in vaccines,” Professor Skerritt said in a press conference with Scott Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt.

Private supply may be the only way for individuals to skip the prioritisation queue, with the government stating the first vaccine doses will be given to frontline healthcare workers, carers of vulnerable people and, if safety data supports, vulnerable people.

In the event a COVID-19 vaccine is approved airlines, including Qantas, would likely require travellers to have proof of vaccination before boarding an overseas flight.

It is understood leading vaccine manufacturers are unlikely to have available supply for purchase outside of their deals with national governments and the COVAX international facility, which aims to provide vaccines to poorer nations.

Janssen said it plans to allocate up to 500 million vaccine doses to lower income countries.

“There has been recent speculation that vaccine manufacturers may seek to supply vaccine to the private market,” a Janssen spokeswoman.

“At Janssen, our focus is on providing an affordable COVID-19 vaccine on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use”.

On Friday, the government announced it had bought another 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca viral vector vaccine and 11 million extra doses of the mRNA-type Novavax candidate.

A Health department spokeswoman said: “Decisions to make any vaccine available privately are for the sponsoring company, noting that all vaccines need to be registered by the TGA before they can be supplied in Australia.

“The Australian Government is committed to provide COVID-19 vaccines at no cost to patients. The Government does not intend to on sell vaccine it has procured to private providers within Australia”.