EC expands Novavax' Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine approval

Yesterday, Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) COVID-19 vaccine was granted expanded conditional marketing authorization (CMA) in the European Union (EU) for use as a booster vaccine for adults aged 18 and older by the European Commission.

Developed by US biotech Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX), Nuvaxovid has not been a major success in the covid vaccine space, in the second quarter of 2002 only generating $55 million of product sales by Novavax and $23 million of royalties, milestone, and adjuvant sales to license partners. The vaccine only gained US approval in July this year. By contrast, the leading COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, earned Pfizer $8.85 billion sales in the 2022 second quarter.

With uptake of a second booster dose at only 7.5% in Europeans over the age of 18 according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s latest figures, Novavax believes this is an opportune time for a discussion on the importance of expanded vaccination options in Europe, and the approval of Nuvaxovid in this context.