Icon: enlarge
Ugur Sahin, head of the Mainz company Biontech
Photo: FABIAN BIMMER / REUTERS
The head of Mainz-based company Biontech, Ugur Sahin, assumes that the results of an effectiveness study with his potential coronavirus vaccine will be available shortly.
In a video interview with regional publisher VRM, he said his company could apply for US approval in mid-November if the data is positive.
"We'll definitely be smarter in two weeks," said Sahin.
He expects the first data on effectiveness for the beginning of November at the latest.
"We are optimistic," said Sahin, adding that if the data is positive, an application for emergency approval could be filed with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in mid-November.
Biontech and its US partner Pfizer, together with the US biotech group Moderna and the British company AstraZeneca, are among the leading companies in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
Pfizer announced Tuesday that the 44,000 volunteer study had not yet had enough infections to provide any information about whether the vaccine was working or not.
An independent body carries out the first analysis when 32 infections are reached.
Pfizer also said that if the study is successful, it is expected to apply for emergency approval shortly after sufficient safety data is available in late November.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen assured that the member states would receive the vaccine "all at the same time and under the same conditions" if it was available.
The amount depends on the share of the countries in the EU population.
The EU Commission negotiates contracts with vaccine manufacturers on behalf of the member states.
Von der Leyen has now called on EU governments to prepare for the distribution and supply chains for the vaccines.
However, she said on Wednesday that "in the best case", larger amounts of the vaccine can be expected in April.
Icon: The mirror
jat / Reuters
