Newsroom COVID-19
Ph. Eur. Commission kicks off elaboration of three general texts on mRNA vaccines and components
Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been at the forefront of vaccine development efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. With two authorised mRNA-based vaccines on the market, the mRNA vaccine field continues to evolve, as this increasingly important technology can be tailored to fight different...
Independent control of COVID-19 vaccines: article co-authored by the EDQM and members of the OCABR Network published in npj Vaccines
The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) and members* of the Official Control Authority Batch Release (OCABR) Network of the General European OMCL Network (GEON) have co-authored an article entitled “Independent Control of COVID-19 Vaccines by EU Official Control...
Full OCABR guideline for Pandemic COVID-19 vaccine, Inactivated, now available
The guideline for Pandemic COVID-19 vaccine, Inactivated, in force since 4 May 2022, contains the list of tests to be carried out by an Official Medicines Control Laboratory (OMCL) for Official Control Authority Batch Release (OCABR). It has now been updated to include a model protocol for the...
Revised OCABR Guideline for Pandemic COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA) now available
The Guideline for Pandemic COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA), in force since 12 November 2020, has been updated to accommodate bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The update includes a revision of the list of tests to be performed by Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCLs) for Official Control...
IMWP monographs on Favipiravir and on Favipiravir tablets published for public enquiry
The IMWP monographs on Favipiravir and on Favipiravir tablets are an outcome of the pharmacopoeial alert system, which was established in 2019 at the 9th International Meeting of World Pharmacopoeias (IMWP) in Da Nang, Vietnam to ensure pharmacopoeias work together in any relevant public health...
New OCABR guidelines on COVID-19 recombinant spike protein vaccines and non-replicating adenovirus-vectored COVID-19 vaccines
The new Official Control Authority Batch Release (OCABR) Guideline for Pandemic COVID-19 Vaccine (Recombinant Spike Protein), containing the agreed list of tests to be performed by Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCLs) for OCABR, is now available and is in force from 20 April 2021. The...
Full OCABR Guideline for Pandemic COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA) now available
The Guideline for Pandemic COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA) has been updated to include a model protocol for the submission of manufacturers’ data. This key guideline has been in force since 12 November 2020 with the list of tests to be carried out by an Official Medicines Control Laboratory (OMCL) for...
COVID-19 and vaccines: Equitable access to vaccination must be ensured
How can we ensure equitable access to vaccination during the current and future pandemics? The Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics has made today a number of recommendations. First, strategies should be put in place to avoid generating discrimination due to material aspects, such as...
EDQM releases updated European Pharmacopoeia vaccines package for COVID-19 vaccine developers
The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) has released an updated set of pharmacopoeial quality standards for vaccines. Originally published in June 2020, the package now includes a further 17 texts on analytical methods which are referenced in the recently...
COVID-19 vaccines: release of guidelines critical for co-ordinated independent batch control by EU OMCLs
The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM) has published three new Official Control Authority Batch Release (OCABR) guidelines outlining the tests to be performed by Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCLs) in the EU OCABR Network as part of the independent...
New EDQM document on recombinant viral vectored vaccines to support COVID-19 vaccine developers
A broad range of technologies are being evaluated in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, from conventional approaches, such as live attenuated and inactivated vaccines, to more recent technologies, such as nucleic acid vaccines and recombinant viral vectored vaccines. Currently, limited...
Ensuring the availability of quality standards for medicines in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of quality medicines is more important than ever. Unfortunately, since the start of the sanitary crisis, shortages of medicines have increased around the world, and notably of those to treat or alleviate COVID-19 symptoms or used in...
Products and extemporaneous preparation of paediatric formulations that may be useful in the treatment of COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, clinical trials aimed at demonstrating the safety and efficacy of established active substances in this new indication are currently ongoing and medicinal products are also being used experimentally in clinical practice. Reference is made to the...
EDQM continues to support COVID-19 vaccine developers by providing selected training materials
Further to the publication of the COVID-19 vaccine developers’ package of pharmacopoeial texts (see “ EDQM provides COVID-19 vaccine developers with free access to quality standards applicable in Europe”), the EDQM has compiled a companion list of training materials on the European Pharmacopoeia...
Impact of COVID-19 crisis – National authorities in Europe report shortages of medical products and increase in illegal activities
The Committee of Experts on Minimising Public Health Risks Posed by Falsification of Medical Products and Similar Crimes (CD-P-PH/CMED) held its spring meeting via videoconference from 26 to 28 May 2020. Some 35 delegates from 24 countries participated. A dedicated discussion took place to...
EDQM provides COVID-19 vaccine developers with free access to quality standards applicable in Europe
The EDQM is committed to supporting vaccine developers during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic – as well as contributing to the wider global effort to combat the virus – by openly sharing knowledge and offering temporary free access to relevant guidance and standards. The EDQM and the...
Annual OMCL Network meeting focuses on role of OMCLs during the COVID-19 pandemic
The annual meeting of the European Network of Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCLs) took place from 12 to 15 May 2020, online and with a reduced programme due to the COVID-19 crisis. It was attended by more than 350 participants from 39 countries and was organised by the EDQM. The...
EDQM webinar: tissue donation from deceased donors during the COVID-19 pandemic
Maintaining a safe, sufficient and accessible supply of critical and essential tissues for human application during a pandemic is of vital importance to public health systems that support donation and transplantation. With this in mind, the EDQM organised a webinar for the tissue donation and...
FREE Webinar Tissue donation from deceased donors during the COVID-19 pandemic 28 April 2020
Webinar : Tissue donation from deceased donors during the COVID-19 pandemic, 28 April 2020, 3 pm – 5.30 pm (CEST) The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare is pleased to invite you to a webinar to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting national programmes for...
Prioritisation of activities related to CEPs during COVID-19 contingency measures period
In the context of having switched to working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the EDQM has prioritised certain activities linked with CEPs over others and it is important to share this with our stakeholders. Priority is being given to activities related to assessment of all kinds of CEP...
- WHO: COVID-19 updates
- EMA: COVID-19 page
- ECDC: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has published advice in a report entitled “Infection prevention and control in the household management of people with suspected or confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19)”. - European Commission: Coronavirus response
- European Commission: Safe COVID-19 vaccines for Europeans