EU drugs regulator confirms data breach in cyber attack

Europe's drugs regulator confirmed on Friday data had been breached in a cyberattack that was disclosed days before, while adding that a limited number of third-party documents were unlawfully accessed.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had not provided any details on Wednesday when it disclosed the cyber attack, but Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE had said documents related to the development of their COVID-19 vaccine had been "unlawfully accessed".

The EMA said on Friday "concerned companies" were being informed, without naming them, and that the breach had not affected its operations, or timelines, related to the evaluation and approval of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.