EU agency to rule on Moderna for teens in July

The EU's drug watchdog said Tuesday it hoped to rule as soon as July on whether Moderna's coronavirus vaccine can be used for 12- to 17-year-olds.

Following the US biotech company's application on Monday for conditional approval, the European Medicines Agency said it would carry out an "accelerated assessment".

"EMA will communicate the outcome of its evaluation, which is expected in July unless supplementary information is needed," it said.

The agency said the Moderna vaccine, which has been approved for adults in the EU since January, would be considered again using test results including a large clinical trial of adolescents.

The regulator approved the first vaccine for European adolescents, by Pfizer/BioNTech, in May.