Novavax Reports More Delays for Its Highly Protective Covid-19 Vaccine

New York Times ^ | 05/11/2021 | Katie Thomas

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Novavax, one of the first players in the race to vaccinate the world against Covid, delivered disheartening news on Monday, saying that its highly protective vaccine would not be authorized in the United States or Britain until at least July, and that it would not reach peak production until the end of the year.

The delays, announced during an earnings call with investors, are the latest setback for the little-known Maryland company, which was granted up to $1.6 billion from the U.S. federal government last year and whose product has shown robust results in clinical trials. Despite these wins, the company has struggled to demonstrate that it can deliver on its promise to supply the world with 2 billion doses this year. Novavax has never brought a vaccine to market in its 34-year history.

On the call, the company’s president and chief executive, Stanley C. Erck, said that the regulatory and manufacturing hurdles causing the delay have now been resolved. “Nearly all of the major challenges have been overcome, and we can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

Investors did not appear to agree: By Tuesday morning, the company’s stock had fallen to $133.86, down nearly 17 percent, although it rebounded somewhat later in the day.

“I don’t see a lot going well for them at this point,” said Rob Smith, the managing director of Capital Alpha Partners, an investment research firm.

The company’s delay is unlikely to affect wealthy countries like the United States, which is flush with vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson.

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But it is likely to have significant repercussions for the rest of the world, given that just last week, Novavax finalized a deal with Gavi, a public-private global vaccine partnership, to supply 1.1 billion doses of its shot to low- and middle-income countries.

Novavax has struck other deals with countries like South Korea, Japan and Australia, and has set up agreements with eight production plants around the world.

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This is the one I’m waiting for. From what I have read it is a “real” vaccine, not a RNA modifier.

I’ll still wait.