US-based pharmaceutical firm Novavax, Inc. has applied for emergency use authorization (EUA) for its two-dose coronavirus vaccine in the Philippines, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Novavax has “applied for an EUA but their requirements are not yet complete,” FDA Director General Rolando Enrique D. Domingo told BusinessWorld in a Viber message on Friday.
The country’s drug regulator has already approved eight vaccine brands for emergency use.
Philippine vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. earlier said that the country had signed a supply deal with Novavax for about 30 million doses of its protein-based vaccine, also known as Covovax.
In a study that involved 29,960 participants across 119 sites in the US and Mexico, Covovax demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe cases, Novavax said in a press release dated June 14. It added that the vaccine was 91% effective in high-risk populations and was 93% effective against “predominantly circulating Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest,” such as Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.
The Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, produces the Novavax vaccines.
The Indian biotechnology firm started the production of the first batch of Covovax vaccines in June. — Kyle Aristophere Atienza