UK starts real-time review of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate

FILE PHOTO: A sign marks the headquarters of Moderna Therapeutics, which is developing a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Moderna Inc said on Tuesday United Kingdom's health regulator has started a real-time review of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The company has begun a rolling data submission from its vaccine candidate to UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRD) for it to start its independent assessment of evidence as and when it becomes available.

Such a process allows for a reduced time to approve a treatment, while maintaining the same standards of safety and effectiveness.

Moderna said earlier this month it was going to apply for real-time reviews of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine to Europe, following rolling reviews of shots of its rivals Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca.

Canada's health ministry is also in the process of reviewing Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate in real time, the company said earlier this month. (https://reut.rs/3kztkvr)

(Reporting by Trisha Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)