Spain Announces First Clinical Trial of Covid-19 Vaccine

Spain gave the green light to the first human clinical trial of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine being developed by the Belgian pharmaceutical company Janssen, as announced the Minister of Health of the European country, Salvador Illa.

Illa pointed out in a press conference that this test was authorized by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), dependent on the health department, and 190 healthy volunteers between 18 and 55 years old will participate in it.

The clinical trial will last several months and will be followed by one in phase three, the last one before obtaining a product authorization.

Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, will begin the phase two trial of its vaccine next week after carrying out the first stage in Belgium and the United States.

‘When phase two is reached, it is because it has been proven that the vaccine does not cause toxicity or adverse reactions,’ the minister explained.

A total of 550 healthy volunteers from Spain, Belgium and Germany will participate to evaluate the range of doses and different administration guidelines.

The studies in Spain will be carried out in the university hospitals of La Paz and La Princesa, in Madrid, and in the Marques de Valdecilla de Santander, capital of the northern region of Cantabria.