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Amsterdam (dpa) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) opens a fast test procedure for the Russian corona vaccine Sputnik V.
The decision is based on the results of laboratory tests and clinical studies in adults, as the EMA announced on Thursday in Amsterdam.
According to the studies, Sputnik V stimulates the formation of antibodies against the virus and can help protect against Covid-19.
The EMA experts will evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine using the rapid rolling review process.
Test results are already checked, even if not all results are available and no application for approval has been submitted.
It is not foreseeable when approval could take place.
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Russia's state direct investment fund RDIF, which is involved in financing the Sputnik development, welcomed the start of the EMA process and announced that, if approved, it would provide 50 million people in the EU with the vaccine.
It could start in June, said RDIF boss Kirill Dmitriev.
So far, Sputnik V is registered in 42 countries with a total population of 1.1 billion people.
Hungary and Slovakia have also already approved the preparation with an effectiveness of 91.6 percent without EMA.
"Sputnik V can make an important contribution to saving millions of lives across Europe," said Dmitriev.
Russia can hardly wait for the EMA's decision.
"The vaccine partnership should be above politics, and working with the EMA is seen as an excellent example that confirms that only joining forces can help defeat the pandemic," he said.
The manufacturer of Sputnik V had recently stated several times that an application had been made to the EU authority.
According to the EMA, this was not the case.
The Russian manufacturer had specified the company R-Pharm Germany GmbH as an EU partner at the EMA.
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The EU Commission made it clear on Thursday that it was not currently negotiating a framework supply agreement for all 27 EU countries with the Sputnik manufacturers.
That could change if the member states decided to expand the portfolio of vaccines for the EU.
There are currently framework agreements with six manufacturers.
The EU states can buy from other companies themselves.
So far, three corona vaccines have been approved in the EU.
They come from the manufacturers Pfizer / Biontech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
On March 11, the EMA is expected to recommend approval of the vaccine from the US manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.
The final decision on approval is made by the EU Commission;
but that is a matter of form.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210304-99-687323 / 3
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