Spain's Hipra is confident there will be European Union demand for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine once approved for use as it is designed to protect against new variants, can be moved easily and produced in mass quantity, a top executive said. A Spanish pharmaceutical firm that has specialised in veterinary vaccines for some 50 years, Hipra hopes to start producing its own COVID-19 shot candidate - now in Phase II trials - in the first half of 2022 after receiving authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Hipra Vice President Elia Torroella told Reuters in an interview she is confident the shot would be effective against the emergent Omicron variant as it had shown protection in trials against all known strains of the coronavirus, though she gave no details.