Janssen announces publication of data on dengue antiviral candidate

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced the publication of new data in the journal Nature showing that an early-stage clinical candidate provides strong protection against dengue in non-human primates and mice. The first-in-class antiviral, which was shown to be safe and well tolerated in a Phase 1 first-in-human clinical study, is now progressing into Phase 2 clinical studies for the prevention and treatment of dengue. The new data indicate JNJ-1802 is effective against all four of the dengue serotypes in mouse models and provides strong protection against two tested serotypes in non-human primates. These findings build on research published in Nature in 2021 that first identified the novel mechanism of action from the same chemical series as JNJ-1802. The mechanism of action prevents the interaction between two viral proteins, thereby stopping the ability of the virus to replicate. A similar mechanism of action was confirmed for JNJ-1802 with these new data. This new research, together with Phase 1 first-in-human data showing the compound to be safe and well-tolerated, is supportive of further clinical development of JNJ-1802 for both prophylaxis and treatment of dengue.