The EU may approve the two vaccines being tested by the companies Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna before the end of the year, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
After a video meeting with EU leaders on Thursday, von der Leyen said that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) could approve the vaccine ”as early as the second half of December if everything proceeds without any problems.”.
Both Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna have released results from their phase 3 trials in the past month, in which tens of thousands of people have been vaccinated. In both cases, the effectiveness of the vaccine has been estimated at around 95 percent, which is very high.
Since October, the EMA has been reviewing vaccines from Pfizer/Biontech and Astra Zeneca through a so-called ”rolling review.” This means that the review begins before all studies are complete. On Monday, the review of the vaccine from the company Moderna also began.
Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of German Biontech, which developed its vaccine together with Pfizer, says the companies hope for quick approval.
”"There is a chance that we can get approval from the US or Europe, or both regions, as early as this year. We can even start delivering the vaccine in December, if everyone works together," says Ugur Sahin.
The EU has already signed contracts for hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine from several different manufacturers, under a joint purchasing program that will distribute vaccines to all members of the union. No deal has yet been signed with Moderna, but negotiations are well advanced.
