EU Unveils Strategy for COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Procurement

The European Union announced a COVID-19 vaccine strategy yesterday to deliver a vaccine within 12 to 18 months, or possibly sooner, and to procure an adequate supply for EU members.

The EU said it will ease regulatory requirements to accelerate development of vaccines and treatments and to secure an adequate supply through advanced purchasing agreements.

The European Commission (EC) proposes to relax its regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and to allow clinical trials to begin before conducting environmental risks assessments. The plan also includes accelerated authorization procedures, as well as flexibility for labelling and packaging medicinal products.