European Medicines Agency recommends use of new Spanish COVID vaccine

The European Medicines Agency on Thursday recommended the EU authorization of a new Spanish-made COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for adults.

The regulatory body concluded that the Bimervax vaccine, developed by Spanish firm HIPRA, is a safe and effective booster for people 16 and over who have been vaccinated with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

The main study on Bimervax booster shots found the Spanish vaccine led to higher levels of antibodies against the beta and omicron variants of COVID-19 than the original Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez applauded Hipra and the public institutions that made the vaccine possible, saying it "was a day to remember."

Science and Innovation Minister Diana Morant celebrated the fact that Spain has become one of seven countries to have received EMA approval for a vaccine.

But the vaccine, based on recombinant protein, has been plagued with delays.

In the summer of 2021, Morant said the Spanish COVID-19 vaccine could hit the market by early 2022. Then, in July 2022, Morant said the EMA was about to approve the vaccine "in the next few days."

Last October, company executives said the vaccine, which is claimed to optimize safety, would be approved in November.

By early this year, Morant said the delay had to do with the EMA's approval process.

"I think now there are a lot of vaccines, and the situation isn't the same. Today the times are what they are, and we can't do anything but respect that," she told Europress.

HIPRA has focused on veterinary medicine throughout its history, launching 22 animal vaccines over the last decade.