Novavax Up 20% As Data Shows Vaccine’ Effective Against Coronavirus, New Strains By Investing.com

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com – Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) shares were up by a fifth in premarket trading Friday after data from a late-stage trial showed that its vaccine is effective against the original Covid-19 strain as well as its variants. The shares exchanged hands at $225.

The company has done trials in the U.K. and South Africa.

The company’s vaccine candidate has been found to be effective against “mild, moderate and severe disease caused by the original COVID-19 strain”, according to a company release.

Final analysis of the trial in the U.K. showed that the vaccine is 96.4% effective against the original coronavirus. It is 86.3% effective against the variant first observed in the U.K., which is fast becoming the dominant strain of the disease in much of Europe. Overall vaccine efficiency is 89.7%.

Efficacy against the strain first observed in South Africa was lower, at 60%. The company has so far only conducted stage 2 trials in South Africa.

Novavax expects the data to serve as the basis for submission for authorization to various regulatory agencies worldwide.