International Circuit
Johnson & Johnson announces European commission approval for Janssen’s preventive Ebola vaccine
Johnson & Johnson today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted Marketing Authorisation for its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies’ Ebola vaccine regimen for the prevention of Ebola Virus Disease. Enabled by this approval, Janssen is now collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO) on vaccine pre-qualification, which should help accelerate registration of its preventive Ebola vaccine regimen in African countries and facilitate broader access to those most in need.
Two Marketing Authorisation Applications (MAAs) were submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the vaccines composing the two-dose regimen, Zabdeno® (Ad26.ZEBOV) and Mvabea® (MVA-BN-Filo). Marketing Authorisation under exceptional circumstances has been granted following Accelerated Assessment of the MAAs and a positive opinion by the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). Janssen’s Ebola vaccine regimen is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of Ebola Virus Disease caused by the Zaire ebolavirus species in individuals aged one year and above.
“The European approval of Janssen’s Ebola vaccine regimen is a landmark moment – both for our Company and in the world’s battle against the deadly Ebola virus. Building on our history, we are committed to bringing forward vaccines to help overcome the threat of some of the world’s most life-threatening infectious diseases,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer of Johnson & Johnson.
The worst Ebola outbreak to date was the West African epidemic, which caused nearly 30,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths in 2014-2016.1 The world’s second worst Ebola outbreak on record began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 2018. It has since caused more than 3,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths – a mortality rate of 65 percent.2
“The approval of our Ebola vaccine symbolizes the progress Janssen has made towards achieving our vision of delivering potentially transformational vaccines to communities most at risk of deadly infectious diseases. Not only is it the first vaccine to emerge from our vaccines pipeline, it is also the first approved vaccine to be developed using Janssen’s AdVac® technology. The same technology is being used to develop vaccine candidates to protect against SARS-CoV-2, as well as Zika, RSV and HIV,” said Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head, Janssen Research & Development, LLC.
Janssen’s Ebola vaccine regimen is specifically designed to induce long-term immunity against the Ebola virus3,4 in adults and children aged one year and above. As such, it will be used to support preventive vaccination in countries most at risk of outbreaks, as well as for other at-risk groups such as healthcare workers, biosafety level 4 (BSL4) laboratory workers, military personnel deployed in the affected regions, airport staff and visitors to high-risk countries.
The regimen includes Ad26.ZEBOV as the first dose, based on Janssen’s AdVac® viral vector technology,5 and MVA-BN-Filo as the second dose, based on Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN® technology, administered approximately eight weeks later.6
“I am enormously grateful for the dedication from everyone who has been a part of this development, including our many global strategic partners for their extraordinary commitment to helping make this regimen a reality,” said Johan Van Hoof, M.D., Managing Director, Janssen Vaccines and Prevention B.V. “The devastating 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa grew exponentially, overwhelming healthcare systems. In less than six years, with the strength of global public-private collaborations, we have an approved Ebola vaccine which could help those most in need, with the ultimate goal of preventing outbreaks before they start.”
Janssen supported vaccination initiatives in the DRC and neighboring Rwanda, with the goal of preventing Ebola’s geographic spread beyond the outbreak zone. When considering both clinical studies and vaccination initiatives, approximately 60,000 people have been vaccinated with Janssen’s preventive Ebola vaccine regimen to date.7 Janssen-sponsored Phase 1 studies have been reported in peer-reviewed journals including JAMA3,8 and the Journal of Infectious Diseases,9,10 and Phase 1, 2 and 3 data were presented at the 2019 European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Disease (ECCMID).4,6,11 These studies indicate that the vaccine regimen is well tolerated, inducing robust and durable immune responses to the Zaire ebolavirus species. The evaluation of the protective effect of the vaccine regimen was demonstrated through the bridging of clinical immunogenicity results to efficacy and immunogenicity data obtained in non-human primates (NHP).12
In May 2019, the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunization recommended the use of the Janssen Ebola vaccine regimen as part of efforts to contain the DRC outbreak13 and more than 50,000 people in the DRC14 and Rwanda15 have been vaccinated to date through this initiative alone.7
Johnson & Johnson has made a significant investment in the Ebola vaccine regimen since its decision to accelerate the development program in 2014 in response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. The Company is grateful to its global strategic partners who have helped to support and co-fund these efforts, including Bavarian Nordic A/S, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) funded through the EU Horizon 2020 program, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Regulatory Submissions & Status
Today’s European Commission Marketing Authorisation decision follows the positive opinion in May 2020 from the CHMP of the EMA16 and the granting of an Accelerated Assessment for Janssen’s investigational preventive Ebola vaccine regimen MAAs by the CHMP in September 2019.17 The MAAs are supported by data from eleven Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical studies18 evaluating the safety and immunogenicity (ability to induce an immune response) of the vaccine regimen in more than 6,500 adults and children aged one year and above across the U.S., Europe and Africa,18 preclinical studies, and immunobridging analyses comparing the results of clinical and preclinical efficacy studies.
Discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have taken place to define the required data set for filing US licensure. – BUSINESS WIRE
