France’s Valneva expects recommendation on COVID-19 vaccine by end-March

Valneva expects to start delivering its vaccine in Europe soon after it is recommended for conditional approval by the end of March, the French vaccine maker said yesterday as it received an initial regulatory assessment.

Valneva has received a list of questions on its VLA2001 vaccine from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) and should respond in the coming days, it said in a statement.

The group now expects a recommendation for conditional approval for adults aged 18 to 55 by the end of March, and if this is granted, to start shipments to Europe early in the second quarter of the year.

The group has begun manufacturing and has inventory ready for labelling and deployment once the vaccine is approved, it said.