After Britain, US could be next to approve Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for use
- US Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee will meet on December 10
- BioNTech official says company is engaged with agencies in several countries and will be ready to roll out vaccine quickly after approvals
After Britain became the first country to grant emergency approval on Wednesday to a coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, the US could be the next country to authorise its use.
The US Food and Drug Administration said that its vaccine advisory committee would meet on December 10, with its results announced soon after. The vaccine makers have earmarked 100 million doses for the US, costing US$1.96 billion, with the option for an additional 500 million doses, according to BioNTech, a German drug maker based near Frankfurt.
Sean Marett, the chief commercial officer of BioNTech, said on Wednesday the company was engaged with regulatory bodies in several countries and would be ready for roll out quickly after approvals.
“The UK is the first approval today, we’re absolutely delighted about that. But we’re not stopping there, we have the US review on 10 December. EU is expected to come to a decision in December,” Marett said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“We expect further regulatory discussions with a number of parties and bodies across the world in the coming weeks and months,” he said.
A vaccine is of critical need in the US, the global leader in confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the country, where the pandemic has raced out of control, had 13.7 million cases and 270,728 deaths as of Wednesday.