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What happened
Actions of Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) were 6.3% higher at 10:56 a.m. EST Monday after rising to 9.7% earlier in the day. This interesting gain came after biotechnology updated the progress of its COVID-19 vaccine development before the market opened.
Novavax said its advanced-stage study in the UK and its Phase 2b study in South Africa of the NVX-CoV2373 coronavirus vaccine candidate have completed recruitment. The company also said its advanced stage US / Mexico study is expected to “begin in the coming weeks.” Novavax had previously said that this study would begin in November.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
You might have thought biotech action would drop after it announced a delay in its latest-stage US study of NVX-CoV2373. And that’s exactly what happened initially. Novavax shares fell nearly 6% earlier Monday morning. But that loss was reversed as investors looked at the bigger picture for the company.
A delay of a few weeks in the initiation of the late stage US / Mexico study should not matter much if NVX-CoV2373 is proven to be safe and effective. At this point, there are no red flags to cause concern.
Investors have also likely recognized the importance of the good news announced today by Novavax. The company plans to release interim data from the UK final-stage study on NVX-CoV2373 as early as the first quarter of 2021. Although the exact timing of this report depends on the overall rate of COVID-19 in the UK, the cases It is on the rise in the region, which bodes well for an announcement sooner rather than later.
Now what
The next major step for Novavax will be the start of its late stage US / Mexico study on NVX-CoV2373. It appears that this study could start in December, although the decision rests with the Food and Drug Administration. Novavax said more than 100 test sites in the United States and Mexico have already been selected.
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