Johnson & Johnson launches phase three clinical trial for Covid-19 vaccine candidate

US consumer health and drugs giant Johnson & Johnson has launched the last phase of clinical trials for its Covid-19 vaccine.

The vaccine candidate, JNJ-78436735, which is being developed by its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceutical, will now be tested on as many as 60,000 adults, which include a "significant representation" of volunteers aged 60 and over.

"With our vaccine candidate now in our global Phase 3 trial, we are one step closer to finding a solution for COVID-19," said Mathai Mammen, global head of Research & Development at Janssen.

"We used a highly scientific and evidence-based approach to select this vaccine candidate."

Start of the trial follows the successful completion of a phase 1/2a trial which determined the vaccine was safe and generated an immune response.

The aims of the phase three double-blind, placebo -controlled trial are to determine the safety and efficacy of a single dose of the drug.

As of 1218 BST, shares of Johnson & Johnson were advancing 2.48% to $147.79.