COVID-19 vaccines from 3 firms under rolling review: drug safety ministry

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is in the process of evaluating novel coronavirus vaccines from three global pharmaceutical firms under fast-track procedures, a drug safety ministry report showed Friday, as the nation tries to quickly bring in vaccines to slow down infections here.

AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen have so far submitted rolling review requests for their COVID-19 vaccines, according to a document from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The ministry report was submitted to Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the main opposition People Power Party.

AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish bio giant, requested a rolling review of its nonclinical trial data in October. The ministry initiated rolling review of AstraZenca's COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 4.

South Korea earlier announced it has signed deals to buy vaccines for 10 million people from AstraZeneca, 6 million from Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, 10 million from Pfizer and 20 million from Moderna.

The ministry said Moderna has yet to submit a rolling review request for its vaccine. The government has decided to cut its review period for COVID-19 vaccines from 180 days to 40 days to allow swift vaccination.

kdon@yna.co.kr
(END)