Filenews 15 January 2021
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) hopes Johnson & Johnson will apply in February for approval of its vaccine against Covid-19, EMA executive director Emer Cook said.
"We hope it will be in February, but I can't confirm it, I'm not in a position to do it," he said.
On Wednesday, Peter Lise, an MEP from the European People's Party in charge of health issues, also said the application was probably expected in February.
"European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou announced during a meeting of our group this morning that the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is likely to apply for approval of its vaccine from the European Union in February," the MEP said.
The European regulator has so far given approval for Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna vaccines, and a rapid evaluation of AstraZeneca's vaccine is under way.
Emer Cook clarified that the EMA has not yet received applications for Russian and Chinese vaccines, but is in talks with Russian officials.
On Thursday, Kirill Dmitryv, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said Russia would submit a formal application to the European Union next month for approval of the Sputnik V vaccine.
The results of the evaluation of the Russian vaccine will soon be published in the scientific press, Dmitryv said in an interview with Reuters Next.
Source: RES-IPA / Reuters
