Janssen Research & Development will be working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to build a portfolio of vaccines and treatments to prevent a widespread outbreak of influenza.
As part of the partnership, Janssen and the HHS's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will be working to develop flu treatments, therapies and vaccines, a release from Johnson & Johnson, Janssen's parent company, said.
"Speeding the development of biopreparedness countermeasures such as new therapies and vaccines requires that the private and public sectors join forces," Johnson & Johnson Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said in the release. "No single government or company can do it alone,"
According to the World Health Organization, there are over 1 billion cases of influenza worldwide each year, including approximately 5 million severe cases and 500,000 deaths, the release said.
