EU regulator launches real-time review of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said its human medicines committee has started evaluating the first batch of data on the vaccine, and will continue till sufficient data is available and a formal application is submitted.

The European health regulator said on Thursday it started a rolling review of the experimental Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca and Oxford University, aiming to speed up any future approval process.

A chemist works at AstraZeneca's headquarters (REUTERS)

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said its human medicines committee has started evaluating the first batch of data on the vaccine, and will continue till sufficient data is available and a formal application is submitted.

The news comes just weeks after several global trials of the vaccine were halted due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. U.S. trials are still under review, with regulators widening their probe.