EMA starts rolling review of J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate
EMA starts rolling review of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate
(Reuters) – Europe’s health regulator said on Tuesday it had started a real-time review of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate after preliminary results showed that the shot triggered the production of antibodies and immune cells against the virus.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said the review would go on until enough evidence was available for a formal marketing authorization application for the vaccine, which is being developed by the company’s Janssen unit.
Rivals Moderna Inc and Pfizer-BioNTech also applied for emergency authorization on Tuesday to launch their vaccine candidates in Europe.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a tweet that J&J has submitted its vaccine candidate for a review by Health Canada, making it the fourth vaccine to begin the approval process in the country. (bit.ly/36r8fi9)
J&J did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on Hajdu’s tweet.
FILE PHOTO: Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Johnson & Johnson logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Canada had in August signed a deal with J&J for up to 38 million doses of its vaccine candidate. Rival vaccine candidates by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca are already under review by Health Canada.
Reporting by Muvija M and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Arun Koyyur
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