Novavax: Massive examine finds COVID-19 shot about 90% efficient

Vaccine maker Novavax mentioned Monday its shot was extremely efficient towards COVID-19 and in addition protected towards variants in a big, late-stage examine within the U.S. and Mexico.

The vaccine was about 90% efficient general and preliminary knowledge confirmed it was protected, the corporate mentioned.

Whereas demand for COVID-19 pictures within the U.S. has dropped off dramatically, the necessity for extra vaccines world wide stays essential. The Novavax vaccine, which is straightforward to retailer and transport, is predicted to play an necessary function in boosting vaccine provides within the growing world.

That assist continues to be months away, nevertheless. The corporate says it plans to hunt authorization for the pictures within the U.S., Europe and elsewhere by the tip of September and be capable to produce as much as 100 million doses a month by then.

“A lot of our first doses will go to … low- and middle-income international locations, and that was the objective to start with,” Novavax Chief Government Stanley Erck advised The Related Press.

Whereas greater than half of the U.S. inhabitants has had at the very least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, lower than 1 p.c of individuals within the growing world have had one shot, in line with Our World In Knowledge.

Novavax’s examine concerned almost 30,000 individuals ages 18 and up within the U.S. and Mexico. Two-thirds obtained two doses of the vaccine, three weeks aside, and the remainder received dummy pictures.

There have been 77 instances of COVID-19 — 14 within the group that received the vaccine and the remainder have been in volunteers who obtained dummy pictures. None within the vaccine group had reasonable or extreme illness, in comparison with 14 within the placebo group.

The vaccine was equally efficient towards a number of variants together with the one first detected within the U.Ok. that is dominant within the U.S., and in high-risk populations together with the aged and other people with different well being issues.

Negative effects have been principally delicate — tenderness and ache on the injection web site. There have been no stories of surprising blood clots or coronary heart issues, Erck mentioned.

Novavax reported the leads to a press launch and plans to publish in a medical journal, the place it is going to be vetted by impartial consultants. The Maryland-based firm beforehand launched findings from smaller research in Britain and South Africa.

COVID-19 vaccines practice the physique to acknowledge the coronavirus, particularly the spike protein that coats it, and prepare to struggle the virus off. The Novavax vaccine is made with lab-grown copies of that protein. That is completely different from among the different vaccines now broadly used, which embrace genetic directions for the physique to make its personal spike protein.

The Novavax vaccine could be saved in commonplace fridges, making it simpler to distribute.

Novavax beforehand introduced manufacturing delays because of provide shortages. The corporate now expects to succeed in manufacturing of 100 million doses a month by the tip of September and 150 million doses a month by December.

The corporate has dedicated to supplying 110 million doses to the U.S. over the subsequent 12 months and a complete of 1.1 billion doses to growing international locations.

In Could, vaccines alliance Gavi introduced it had signed an settlement to purchase 350 million doses of Novavax’s vaccine, with deliveries estimated to start within the third quarter. COVAX, the worldwide initiative to offer vaccines to international locations, is dealing with a essential scarcity of vaccines after its greatest provider in India suspended exports till the tip of the 12 months,

Novavax has been engaged on growing vaccines for greater than three a long time, however hasn’t introduced one to market. The corporate’s coronavirus vaccine work is partly funded by the U.S. authorities.

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Comply with Linda A. Johnson on Twitter: LindaJ—onPharma

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AP Medical Author Maria Cheng contributed to this report.

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The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Division of Science Training. The AP is solely answerable for all content material.