SEOUL, Oct 27 (Reuters) - South Korea's food and drug
ministry said on Tuesday it had begun a preliminary review of a
COVID-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca PLC for
potential fast-track approval.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said in a statement
that it had formed a screening team to review the vaccine
candidate, with an application for formal approval expected in
90 days under its rapid approval programme for COVID-19
treatments and vaccines.
The team is reviewing the vaccine's non-clinical test data,
the ministry said.
The ministry added that it had given a green light to some
26 clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines as of
Monday, by entities such as pharmaceutical companies Celltrion
Inc and Genexine Inc, with seven
completed and 19 ongoing.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)