The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate leverages the company’s AdVac technology platform, which was also used to develop and manufacture Janssen’s European Commission-approved Ebola vaccine and construct its Zika, RSV, and HIV investigational vaccine candidates. Janssen’s AdVac technology platform has been used to vaccinate more than 110,000 people to date across Janssen’s investigational vaccine programmes.
The Phase III ENSEMBLE study (NCT04505722) of the single-dose regimen of JNJ-78436735, the investigational vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19 being developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, continues to enrol and vaccinate study participants. ENSEMBLE is proceeding to enrol up to 60,000 participants worldwide.
In addition to the single-dose regimen ENSEMBLE study, Janssen has now initiated the two-dose regimen ENSEMBLE 2 trial (NCT04614948). ENSEMBLE 2 is a complementary, planned, pivotal, large-scale, multi-country Phase III trial that will study the safety and efficacy of a two-dose regimen of the investigational Janssen vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19 in up to 30,000 participants worldwide. The ENSEMBLE and ENSEMBLE 2 trials will run in parallel.
While a potentially effective single-dose preventive COVID-19 vaccine with a good safety profile would have significant benefits, particularly in a pandemic setting, Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine programme has been designed to be extremely thorough and driven by science. As such, we are investigating multiple doses and dosing regimens to evaluate their long-term efficacy.1,2
The Phase III ENSEMBLE and ENSEMBLE 2 trials follow positive interim results from the company’s ongoing Phase I/IIa clinical study, which is studying the safety profile and immunogenicity of both a single-dose and two-dose vaccination. The interim analysis showed that a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate induced a robust immune response and was generally well-tolerated. ,
Phase III ENSEMBLE 2 study
The Phase III ENSEMBLE 2 study (NCT04614948) is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a two-dose vaccine regimen versus placebo in adults 18 years old and older with or without stable comorbidities associated with an increased risk for severe COVID-19. The study will assess efficacy of the investigational vaccine after both the first and second dose to evaluate protection against the virus and potential incremental benefits for duration of protection with a second dose.2
Janssen will enrol participants in Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.2 In order to evaluate the efficacy of Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, clinical trial sites in countries and areas with high incidence of COVID-19 and the ability to achieve a rapid initiation were selected.
In the UK, ENSEMBLE 2 is being conducted in collaboration with the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
1ClinicalTrials.gov. A study of Ad26.COV2.S for the Prevention of SARS-CoV-2-Mediated COVID-19 in Adult Participants (ENSEMBLE). Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04505722. Last accessed: November 2020.
2 ClinicalTrials.gov. A Study of Ad26.COV2.S for the Prevention of SARS-CoV-2-mediated COVID-19 in Adults (ENSEMBLE 2). Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04614948. Last accessed: November 20201
