December is here, and that means another Legal Update full of Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences news. We'll start with positive news, including a decision by the State Institute for Drug.
Almost four months ago, Slovakian Prime Minister Igor Matovič gambled that his unilateral decision to buy Russia s Sputnik V jab would pay off even if it meant bringing down the government.
The response of the country: Thanks, but no thanks.
Demand for Sputnik is so weak, in fact, that the government is now looking to unload the vast majority of the 200,000 doses it purchased.
Thursday marks a key cut-off date, after which the vaccine will no longer be available to Slovaks. And with the country’s stock expiring at the end of July, the government is planning to sell or give away its remaining 160,000 doses.
Sputnik Vaccine as ‘Reliable as a Kalashnikov,’ Putin Says, But Doubts Persist
May 19, 2021
FILE - A medical worker holds a syringe with Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease at a vaccination center in St. Petersburg, Russia. Feb. 24, 2021.
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Doubts are mounting about the efficacy of Russia’s Sputnik vaccine. Drug regulators in the Czech Republic and Brazil have withheld approval and counterparts in Slovakia have also expressed doubts.
European Union regulators are still assessing Sputnik for its effectiveness and safety but a former executive director of the European Medicines Agency, EMA, told the Politico.eu news site that objections raised about Sputnik by Brazil’s regulatory authority, Anvisa, would likely be taken seriously by their counterparts in Brussels.