The Race for an RSV Vaccine Heats Up, Leaving J&J Without a Shot

by Mindy Cohn

Johnson & Johnson has thrown in the towel, discontinuing the late-stage study of its experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) adult vaccine, after Pfizer and GSK sprang ahead on producing the first vaccine against the virus.

While RSV causes an average of 14,000 senior deaths yearly in the United States, there is currently no approved vaccine to prevent the lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in older adults. 

J&J launched the original study for a vaccine after it noted positive results from a mid-stage trial, showing the vaccine was 80% effective in preventing lower respiratory tract disease, an effect of RSV.

Even though it has bowed out of the race, J&J said it would share results from the late-stage global study it launched in 2021, conducted at more than 300 sites in multiple countries. 27,000 adults aged 60 and older participated in the trial.

Pfizer and GSK's RSV vaccines were backed by a panel of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers in late February and early March. 

The U.S.  should decide if it will okay either of the two vaccines by May. If given the go-ahead, the new vaccine will initially create a more than $5 billion market, with the potential of exceeding $10 billion by 2030.

Photo Credit: Flickr