Government orders 60m doses of Novavax Covid-19 vaccine after strong efficacy results emerge

Biotechnology company Novavax has released data showing its Covid-19 vaccine is 89.3% effective at preventing coronavirus. 

The result comes from interim data of a Phase 3 clinical trial testing the company’s NVX-CoV2373 vaccine against 15,000 participants aged between 18-84 years of age. Data was taken from the study’s first interim analysis, which was based on 62 cases, 56 of whom received a placebo, and six received the vaccine. When testing against different strains of Covid-19, the vaccine was 95.6% effective against the original strain and 85.6% effective against the UK variant.  

The study was conducted in partnership with the UK government’s Vaccines Taskforce. Novavax also announced that results of its Phase 2b study conducted in South Africa show that the vaccine is 60% effective against that strain of coronavirus.  

“With today’s results from our UK Phase 3 and South Africa Phase 2b clinical trials, we have now reported data on our Covid-19 vaccine from Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials involving over 20,000 participants. In addition, our PREVENT-19 US and Mexico clinical trial has randomised over 16,000 participants toward our enrolment goal of 30,000. NVX 

CoV2373 is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against Covid-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging UK and South Africa variants,” said Stanley C. Erck, president and chief executive officer, Novavax.  “NVX-CoV2373 has the potential to play an important role in solving this global public health crisis. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners, collaborators, investigators and regulators around the world to make the vaccine available as quickly as possible.” 

The UK government has now ordered 60 million doses of Novavax’s vaccine, which is expected to be delivered in the second half of this year. The vaccine still needs to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). 

Speaking about the news, health secretary Matt Hancock said: “This is positive news and, if approved by the medicines regulator, the Novavax vaccine will be a significant boost to our vaccination programme and another weapon in our arsenal to beat this awful virus.

I’m proud the UK is at the forefront of another medical breakthrough and I want to thank the brilliant scientists and researchers, as well as the tens of thousands of selfless volunteers who took park in clinical trials.

The NHS stands ready to roll this vaccine out as quickly as possible to those most at risk if it is authorised.”

Novavax plans to manufacture the bulk of the vaccine using FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’s facilities in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees.