The European Medicines Agency has been in contact this month with 38 makers of potential COVID-19 vaccines, an official at the EU drugs regulator said on Tuesday.
"As of early September the EMA has been in contact with developers of 38 potential COVID-19 vaccines," Fergus Sweeney, head of the agency's clinical studies and manufacturing task force, told a hearing in the European Parliament.
Vaccines must be authorized by the EMA before they can be used in the European Union. No COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized in Europe.
The World Health Organization lists 38 candidate vaccines in clinical evaluation, including shots developed in China and Russia. Another 149 candidates are in pre-clinical evaluation.
Sweeney said EU procedures to authorize COVID-19 vaccines will follow established standards. He added that the EU was conducting enhanced monitoring on the safety of potential vaccines under development.