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When will the corona vaccine arrive? The EU wants to decide on the approval of the active ingredient Biontech / Pfizer this year. According to the manufacturer, delivery of the vaccine is possible in a few hours.
The European Medicines Agency EMA wants to decide on the approval of the Biontech and Pfizer crown vaccine by December 29 at the latest. Until then, it should be assessed whether there are sufficient data on tolerability and efficacy.
The EMA announced that the approval of the vaccine from the American manufacturer Moderna could be decided on January 12. A review based on laboratory data previously submitted by the company has already started.
Biontech: delivery possible in a few hours
Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer had previously announced that they had applied to the EMA for expedited conditional approval of their vaccine on Monday. The companies involved spoke of a “milestone” in their investigation.
If approved, the administration of the BNT162b2 vaccine could begin before the end of the year, Biontech announced. Delivery of the vaccine is possible “in a few hours,” Biontech announced at a joint press conference with Research Minister Anja Karliczek. “We cut production and everything in there can be distributed in a few hours,” said Biontech CFO Sierk Poetting. Be well prepared for this distribution.
The vaccine is delivered in boxes and can be cooled in boxes with dry ice for up to 30 days at the respective vaccination center or for up to five days in a standard refrigerator. Freezers only become important when it comes to long-term storage.
95 percent effective
In November, Biontech and Pfizer reported that their vaccine was 95 percent effective in clinical trials with 44,000 participants. In older people, for whom the virus is particularly dangerous, the success rate was more than 94 percent. There were no serious side effects.
Federal Research Minister Karliczek said the same safety standards were applied to the approval process for corona vaccines as for other drugs. Biontech and Pfizer have already applied for emergency approval from the US FDA and UK regulator MHRA.
EMA approved for all EU countries
The EMA approves vaccines and medicines for all EU member states at the same time. The EU Commission had already agreed on a delivery scope of 200 million cans with the two companies, as well as an option for another 100 million cans as soon as approval is available.
Mainz pharmaceutical company Biontech (founded in 2008) was largely unknown before the corona pandemic. The approximately 1,500 employees of the company investigated new immunotherapies for cancer patients based on so-called mRNA technology.
The genetic blueprint of the modified virus components is injected into the body. Cells absorb this genetic information and use it to produce harmless pathogenic parts, to which the immune system reacts. It stores the immune response that then protects against a real infection. Biontech also relied on this technology when developing a corona vaccine.
