Novavax Covid-19 vaccine moves closer to regulatory approval after strong results emerge

Novavax’s vaccine for Covid-19 has been found to be 96.4% effective against the original strain of Covid-19, the biotechnology has company announced.

Novavax released strong efficacy results for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, NVX‑CoV2373, back in January, when interim data showed that it was 95.6% effective against the original strain and 85.6% effective against the UK variant.  

Now, final data from that same trial, which enrolled over 15,000 participants, show that efficacy for NVX‑CoV2373 against the original Covid-19 strain is 96.4% and 86.3% effective against the UK variant.

The results are based off of 106 cases from the trial, with only 10 being in the vaccine group and 96 in the placebo group. The vaccine was found to be effective against severe disease, although cases of severe disease in the trial group were found within the placebo participants.

Novavax also announced results from its trial taking place in South Africa, where it is testing the vaccine against B1.351 variants. The vaccine was found to have an efficacy of 55.4% in HIV-negative participants. Vaccine efficacy was based on an analysis on 147 participants, with 51 cases receiving the vaccine and 96 receiving a placebo.

Both trials show that NVX-CoV2373 displayed 100% protection against severe disease, including hospitalisation and death.

“We are very encouraged by the data showing that NVX-CoV2373 not only provided complete protection against the most severe forms of disease, but also dramatically reduced mild and moderate disease across both trials. Importantly, both studies confirmed efficacy against the variant strains,” said Stanley C. Erck, president and chief executive officer, Novavax. “Today marks one year since the WHO officially declared the Covid-19 pandemic, and with this data in hand, we are even more motivated to advance our vaccine as a potential weapon in the fight to end the suffering caused by Covid-19.”

Novavax hopes the data will help it move towards an authorised rollout of its vaccines by regulatory agencies worldwide.