Novavax announces positive preclinical data from combined Covid-19 and influenza vaccine

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – U.S. drugmaker Novavax announced Monday that its combination vaccine against Covid-19 and seasonal flu had shown promising results in preclinical animal studies.

The firm, in a statement, said the product has managed to develop robust immune responses to both influenza and coronavirus and said it would begin clinical studies with it before the end of the year.

“Despite low rates during the Covid-19 pandemic, influenza remains a significant risk to global public health, and the need for versatile and more effective vaccines is more important than ever,” said Novavax R&D president Gregory M. Glenn.

According to Glenn, the combination of influenza and Covid-19 vaccines may be an “important future tool in the long-term fight against these two harmful respiratory viruses.”

Novavax’s product combines its NanoFlu flu vaccine, which showed effectiveness in a Phase 3 trial last year. The Covid-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373, currently in clinical trials and trials in the UK, has shown nearly 90% effectiveness.

Novavax’s vaccine, which has received support from the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed to combat the coronavirus, does not use messenger RNA technology, as do Pfizer and Moderna, but uses the injection of coronavirus proteins to generate an immune response, a more traditional technique.

The Spanish biopharmaceutical group Zendal, through its subsidiary Biofabri, has been chosen by the U.S. company for the industrial production of its Covid-19 vaccine antigen in the European Union.

The vaccine is highly anticipated, as it is easier to preserve than others. Still, for now, Novavax has not applied for its emergency use authorization and, as reported today by The Washington Post, does not plan to do so until June at the earliest.

Novavax shares on Wall Street fell sharply Monday, as they had a few days earlier following the announcement that the U.S. will support a suspension of patents on Covid-19 vaccines.