MADRID, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Spain’s medicines company authorised the launch of late-stage trials of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday because the race to develop profitable vaccines intensifies.

The Part III trial of the two-dose vaccination shall be carried out in 9 hospitals all through Spain on volunteers each with and with out earlier well being situations, the AEMPS company stated in an announcement.

J&J began mid-stage section II trials in Spain and different international locations in September and launched a late-stage trial in Britain on Monday.

The Part III trials shall be carried out on 30,000 volunteers in 9 international locations.

The 2-dose examine will run in parallel with a trials of a single shot routine involving 60,000 members which was launched in September.

The Spanish hospitals concerned within the trials will enrol volunteers as quickly as potential, the AEMPS stated, including that 20% shall be youthful than 40 and 30% older than 60.

They are going to be given a primary dose of both a placebo or the experimental shot, presently referred to as Advert26COV2, adopted by a second dose or placebo later.

Conclusions will solely be obtainable after analysing the info on the finish of the trials, the Spanish medicines company stated.

The information comes after Pfizer and BioNTech, Russia and Moderna all launched interim information from Part III trials of their potential vaccines displaying greater than 90% efficacy, boosting hopes that vaccines in opposition to the pandemic illness could also be prepared to be used quickly. (Reporting by Inti Landauro and Ingrid Melander; Enhancing by Josephine Mason and David Clarke)