A fourth COVID-19 vaccine may be on the horizon for the United States, Novavax’s CEO said on Monday. Stanley Erck said he believed the FDA could grant his company’s candidate vaccine as early as May.
Appearing on CNBC’s Closing Bell, Erck said his company’s Phase 3 test is in progress, but that he expects the FDA to allow data from a UK test to be considered during the authorization process. emergency use.
Pending approval, the company has agreed to supply the US with 110 million doses.
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In late January, Novavax announced that its protein-based vaccine showed 89.3% efficacy against coronavirus in a study in the United Kingdom, which was observed during a peak period of transmission and when variant B.1.1. 7 was in circulation.
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The injection, NVX-CoV2373, uses a full-length infusion protein created with recombinant nanoparticle technology and the company’s “patented saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant”. This differs from the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which were developed with mRNA technology, and also from the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine, which was created with a viral vector adenovirus. The Novavax vaccine, which is administered in two doses with an interval of one month, is also stable between 2 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius and is sent in a ready-to-use liquid formula.
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Pending approval, the company has agreed to supply the United States with 110 million doses, which, if the deadline remains true, could be completed in June or July, Erck told CNBC. This period coincides with the contract that Johnson & Johnson signed with the United States, which will supply the country with 100 million doses.
“There is a great need for the vaccine in the United States and, you know, it is a big world,” Erck told the news agency.
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On Tuesday, it was learned that Merck & Co. was partnering with Johnson & Johnson to increase production efforts. President Biden is expected to announce the partnership as he updates on the current state of the pandemic.