Europe starts rolling review of Russia's Sputnik vaccine

Russia will be able to supply its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to 50 million EU residents starting from June after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves the vaccine, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Thursday, stressing that vaccine partnership should be above politics.

EMA has started the rolling review of the Russian vaccine, it will be tested for compliance with the EU standards for effectiveness, safety and quality. RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the start of the procedure, noting that RDIF provided EMA with comprehensive data on the vaccine — " which is now approved for use in more than 40 countries."

"Sputnik V can make an important contribution to saving millions of lives in Europe and we are looking forward to a thorough review of data by CHMP [EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use]. Vaccine partnerships should be above politics and cooperation with EMA is a perfect example demonstrating that pooling efforts is the only way to end the pandemic. Following EMA approval, we would be able to provide vaccine for 50 million Europeans starting from June 2021," Dmitriev said in a press release.

Dmitriev has assured earlier that large-scale vaccine deliveries to the EU will start only after all the Russians willing to be inoculated receive vaccine shots, Sputnik reported.

The decision to start the rolling review is based on results of laboratory and clinical studies of the vaccine in adults, RDIF said.