The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is currently reviewing applications for authorization from three applicants, said on Monday November 23 that it could approve the first Covid-19 vaccines by the end of the year or early 2021. Based in Amsterdam, this body's mission is to authorize and control medicines in the European Union.
The final green light, given by the European Commission, allows laboratories to market their medicine throughout the EU.
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The EMA statement comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the agency could approve vaccines tested by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in "
the second half of December
".
"
It is difficult at this point to accurately predict the timelines for vaccine authorization, as we do not yet have all the data and ongoing reviews are currently underway,
" the EMA said in an email sent. to AFP.
"
Depending on the progress of the assessment, the EMA might indeed be able to conclude the assessment of the most advanced candidates towards the end of this year or the beginning of next year
," he said. she adds.
The EMA has set up a fast-track procedure, which allows it to examine vaccine safety and efficacy data as they become available, even before a formal request for authorization is submitted by the maker.
Oxford / AstraZeneca, Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna are the three vaccine projects subject to this “
continuous review
”.
The British laboratory AstraZeneca, associated with the University of Oxford, announced Monday that it had developed a vaccine effective at 70% on average, or even 90% in some cases, according to intermediate results.
These results seem for the moment less convincing than those of its competitors Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna, whose effectiveness exceeds 90%, but the British formula has the advantage of using a more traditional technology, making its future vaccine less expensive and easier to store.
