Pharmaceutical giant, Johnson & Johnson announced Wednesday that new research reveals booster doses of its COVID vaccine trigger a significant spike in antibodies, according to CNN. 

The company said people who received a booster dose six to eight months after an initial shot saw an increase in antibodies, which are the immune system's frontline defense against infection.

J&J says the increase was nine-fold higher than 28 days after the first shot.

This new information came to light during two Phase 2 studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe.

Approximately 2,000 study participants were injected with the booster six months after their first doses of J&J's Janssen vaccine.

The company said, "New interim data from these studies demonstrate that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine generated a rapid and robust increase in spike-binding antibodies, nine-fold higher than 28 days after the primary single-dose vaccination." 

Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of research and development for Janssen, said, "We have established that a single shot of our COVID-19 vaccine generates strong and robust immune responses that are durable and persistent through eight months."

He continued, "With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine."

J&J said it has been in discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and other health authorities about public access to a booster dose of its vaccine.

Federal health officials have, likewise, said they expect a booster dose of the J&J vaccine to become necessary at some point.