The American-made Nuvaxovid vaccine has applied for approval to be used in Swiss healthcare. If approved, it would be the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine to be authorised for use in the country.
While the Swiss medical regulator Swissmedic is yet to make a decision, several other European nations have already approved its use. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is the medical regulator for the European Union, approved the vaccine made by Novavax. The same documents submitted to the EMA will be used for the regulatory approval process in Switzerland.
So far, Swissmedic has approved a number of mRNA vaccines for use in vaccination centres in Swiss cities and towns, produced by both Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna. The government of Switzerland also approved the use of the Johnson & Johnson viral vector vaccine, but never approved the widely-used Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, despite its use of similar technology.
Despite being an international company, Novavax has no presence in Switzerland, the Novaxovid vaccine would need to be distributed by a local Swiss firm. The company has confirmed that it will be pursuing authorisation in Switzerland through the pharmaceutical distributor Future Health.
The somewhat complex process is “intended to help ensure that medicines that are already authorised abroad can be made available to patients in Switzerland as quickly as possible," according to a press release made by the Swiss government.