The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) expert committee on new drugs gave the go-ahead for the first H1N1 swine flu vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) and Novartis (NOVN.VX), called Pandemrix and Focetria.
The shots will now go for final approval from European Commission, a process that should take between 10 and 20 days under an accelerated regulation system for pandemic vaccines.
A third vaccine from Baxter (BAX.N), which had also been submitted under the fast-track "mock-up" procedure, did not get a green light, but the agency said it was still reviewing this and other applications.
"We are working with the company (Baxter) to get all of the information that we need so that a recommendation can be made shortly," said a spokeswoman.
Manufacturers and governments have been scrambling for vaccines to target the new H1N1 flu strain, which was declared a pandemic in June.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday that drugmakers will only be able to produce enough H1N1 vaccine each year for half the planet -- around 3 billion doses per year -- meaning governments will have to decide who should get the limited supplies. [ID:nLO127713]
The WHO added that a single dose should be enough to give immunity to healthy adults and older children from the virus commonly known as
