J&J likely to seek EU approval for Covid-19 vaccine in February, says lawmaker

US firm Johnson & Johnson is likely to apply for EU approval for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in February, a top lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Clinical data of the vaccine, which Johnson & Johnson is developing through its subsidiary Janssen, have been assessed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) since Dec. 1 under a rolling review to speed up possible approval.

"EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides announced during our (EU lawmakers) group meeting this morning that the vaccine manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is likely to submit an application for approval to the EU for their vaccine in February," said Peter Liese, who represents health matters for the EU's centre-right group, the assembly's largest.

A spokesman for Kyriakides said later on Wednesday: "We cannot give any precise indications regarding an application for conditional marketing authorisation,...