The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has asked the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for approval for the production of its corona vaccine at the Leiden drug manufacturer HALIX. That says the European Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides Wednesday evening.
HALIX has been making vaccines for AstraZeneca since December, but the factory in Leiden must first get the green light for delivery in Europe. Once the EMA has given an agreement, the delivery of the first vaccines from Leiden to the European Union can start at the end of this month, Kyriakides said. According to AstraZeneca, this involves ten million vaccines that are ready.
In the meantime, HALIX has unwittingly gotten into a discussion about the final destination of the vaccines between the EU and the United Kingdom. Brussels and London both claim that they are most entitled to the doses from Leiden. HALIX is said to have concluded contracts with both parties. The manufacturer is also still awaiting approval for distribution in the UK.
HALIX is one of four production centers with which AstraZeneca has an agreement. The Leiden company has the capacity to produce approximately five million doses per month.
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