(Reuters) – The EU drug regulator will begin investigations next week on whether clinical trials of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine followed global clinical and scientific guidelines, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The European Medicines Agency’s probe comes as people familiar with the regulator’s approval process told the FT https://www.ft.com/content/50031165-1f46-446b-be9a-36d553805fec that Sputnik V trials had not been ethically run.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund, told the newspaper, “There was no pressure (on participants) and Sputnik V complied with all clinical practices”.
(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)