Sputnik V developers suggest accelerating start of its large-scale deliveries to EU

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/. The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine suggested accelerating its mass deliveries to the European Union, engaging EU production facilities after the approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the developers wrote on the vaccine’s Twitter account on Wednesday. The tweets say about an agreement, under which "mass doses of Sputnik V for Europeans have been offered after EMA approval and after mass vaccination in Russia is complete in June, 2021." "This timeline can be accelerated by engaging EU production facilities that are waiting for EMA approval," the developers added. Meanwhile, Russia will deliver the vaccine doses to Hungary and other EU nations that "decided to order Sputnik V directly." The tweets indicate that the EMA has already appointed rapporteurs for a rolling review. "Rapporteurs for a rolling review have already been appointed by EMA following submission of Sputnik V application. Sputnik V is waiting for EMA to begin the rolling review and announce it officially on its web site," it says. It is reported that the Sputnik V developers has filed an application for the rolling review, while the request for market authorization will be the next step. "We hope that EU and EMA will evaluate the vaccine on the scientific and not political basis. Sputnik V has already been approved by 29 countries," they tweeted. Russia was the first country to register its vaccine against the novel coronavirus on August 11, 2020. The Sputnik V vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Health Ministry. Sputnik V is a vaccine on a human adenoviral vector-based platform. The two-part vaccine is administered in two doses. Read more