Novavax vaccine effective against COVID-19 variants found in UK & South Africa: Study

As newer COVID-19 variants emerge across the world, US vaccine manufacturer Novavax on Friday, stated that its vaccine was effective against both the Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Beta (B.1.351) variant strains found originally in UK and South Africa. Issuing a press release, Novavax stated that preclinical and clinical data from its tests demonstrated strong immunogenicity and protection against both variants. The company has submitted a paper titled 'Immunogenicity and In vivo protection of a variant nanoparticle vaccine that confers broad protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants' for peer review.

Novavax vaccine effective on Alpha & Beta variant

"These data suggest that not only could one booster dose of this variant-directed vaccine potentially provide a robust, protective immune boost after vaccination against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also the potential to provide broad protection against various virus strains if used as a primary vaccine regimen," said Gregory M. Glenn, M.D., President of Research and Development, Novavax. "The findings show a broad array of cellular and humoral responses in animal models against all virus strains evaluated," added the press release. These tests were conducted on mice, baboons and humans.

Novavax begins clinical trials on children

On May 3, Novavax announced that it has started clinical trials of its proposed coronavirus vaccine on children aged 12-17. According to a press release, the program will evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373 in up to 3,000 adolescents across 75 sites in the US. Novavax said that in the trial, participants will randomly receive either the vaccine candidate or placebo in two doses, administered 21 days apart, and they will be monitored for up to two years after their final dose.

About Novavax vaccine (NVX-CoV2373)

As per Novavax's website, NVX-CoV2373  is a protein-based vaccine candidate engineered from the genetic sequence of the first strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. NVX-CoV2373 is being evaluated in two pivotal Phase 3 trials: a trial in the U.K. that demonstrated efficacy of 96.4% against the original virus strain, 86.3% against the B.1.1.7/501Y.V1 variant and 89.7% overall; and the PREVENT-19 trial in the U.S. and Mexico that began in December 2020. NVX-CoV2373 is stored and stable at 2°- 8°C, allowing the use of existing vaccine supply chain channels for its distribution. It is packaged in a ready-to-use liquid formulation in 10-dose vials.