The Covid-19 vaccine from the Franco-Austrian laboratory Valneva has been approved in the United Kingdom, the British regulator announced on Thursday. “The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Valneva today received regulatory approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency,” the agency said in a statement, saying the UK regulator is the first in the world to approve this vaccine.
Valneva had already received an authorization for the emergency use of its serum in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which bought a million doses from it. The laboratory has also signed an agreement with the European Commission for the supply of a maximum of 60 million doses over two years in 2022 and 2023.
The Independent Commission for Medicinal Products for Human Use and its expert task force on Covid-19 have carefully reviewed the available evidence and (…) the benefit/risk ratio is positive.
The biotech based on the outskirts of Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) had requested approval for its serum in the summer of 2021. Its vaccine against Covid-19 had been pre-ordered by Great Britain for 100 million doses before until the country gave it up last September.
Valneva is the sixth coronavirus vaccine to be licensed in the UK, joining those from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, the single-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), and Novavax. The Valneva vaccine can be used in people aged 18 to 50, with the first and second doses taken at least 28 days apart. This vaccine can be stored at the temperature of conventional refrigerators, which facilitates its use.