|
 As the world rushes to develop a vaccine, the European Union, hard
hit by COVID-19, fears it may not have sufficient supplies,
especially if a vaccine were developed in the United States or
China.
The European Medicines Agency, in communication with 33 developers,
was doing all it could to speed up the approval process, the EMA's
head of vaccines, Marco Cavaleri, said, but he was sceptical of
claims any could be ready by September.
"For vaccines, since the development has to start from scratch ...
we might look from an optimistic side in a year from now, so
beginning of 2021," he told journalists.
He ruled out the possibility of skipping the third phase of a
vaccine trial, which he said would be needed to be sure a vaccine
was safe and effective.
The EMA is also looking at 115 different therapeutics, or
treatments, for the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 300,000
deaths globally, according to World Health Organization data.
Cavaleri said some of those therapeutics could be approved in Europe
as early as this summer, but he did not specify which.
A leading EU lawmaker said the European Union should circumvent
pharmaceutical companies' intellectual property rights if a vaccine
were developed outside the bloc, a new sign of EU fears of lagging
behind in the global race.
[to top of second column] |
"If a vaccine is first developed outside Europe, we must do everything possible
to ensure that the vaccine is actually available to all countries," said Peter
Liese, who is a prominent member of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
party, the same as Chancellor Angela Merkel's.
"We are counting on dialogue and cooperation, but we must also expect others to
reject dialogue and cooperation. This is why we need a plan B", said Liese.
The United States and China have been wary of supporting a global funding
campaign promoted by the EU which raised $8 billion to research, manufacture and
distribute a possible vaccine and treatments for COVID-19 this month.
Liese called on EU governments and the European Commission to consider a waiver
under World Trade Organisation rules that allows states to produce generic drugs
without the consent of the pharmaceutical companies that have first developed
them and still own intellectual rights.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Ludwig Burger; Additional reporting by Francesco
Guarascio in Brussels; Writing by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Nick Macfie)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
