This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
Novavax Secures $1.6 Billion for Coronavirus Vaccine ¶
On July 9, 2020, the US government announced a $1.6 billion deal with Novavax, a Maryland-based company, to expedite the development of a coronavirus vaccine through Operation Warp Speed.
The deal, worth $1.6 billion, is the largest investment to date from Operation Warp Speed, a federal effort to make coronavirus vaccines and treatments available to the American public as quickly as possible.
Under the agreement, Novavax will produce 100 million doses of its new vaccine by the beginning of 2021, pending successful clinical trials. This significant investment in Novavax, a company that has never brought a product to market, highlights the government's commitment to diversifying its vaccine portfolio.
Operation Warp Speed has now invested nearly $4 billion in companies pursuing vaccines, but has provided limited information about how the funds are being spent, which agencies are involved, or how decisions are being made.
Some critics argue that the administration's strategy of backing multiple approaches, including cutting-edge technologies, may not be the most effective way to move quickly in the midst of a pandemic. Others, however, believe that this approach is necessary to ensure the development of a safe and effective vaccine.
Novavax's president and CEO, Stanley C. Erck, stated that the company's vaccine uses the same technology as its other experimental vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, which have been tested in late-stage clinical trials.
Experts have praised Novavax's vaccine for its potential to diversify the federal portfolio by including another candidate that uses a protein-based vaccine, which has worked against other pathogens like hepatitis B.
With this deal, Novavax will begin manufacturing the vaccines before the company concludes late-stage clinical trials, expected by the end of the year. The company aims to deliver 100 million doses, enough for 50 million people to receive an initial shot and a booster, by the first quarter of 2021, if its coronavirus vaccine is proved safe and effective.
