The European Medicines Agency has approved a new manufacturing site for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, in a move that should boost production of the one-dose vaccine across the 27-nation EU.
In a statement Friday, the EU drug regulator said the new site in Anagni, Italy, will finish manufacturing of the J&J vaccine, which was licensed for use in adults across Europe in March.
Production problems have stalled J&J's roll-out across the European Union in recent months and millions of doses made at a U.S. factory had to be thrown out after contamination issues.
The EU has ordered 200 million doses of the J&J vaccine and was expecting 55 million by the end of June; to date, fewer than 14 million doses have been distributed.