Novavax spikes 76% after UK study shows its COVID-19 vaccine is 89% effective
Shares of Novavax soared more than 2,700% since the company advanced the development of its novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate in late February of 2020.
Novavax soared as much as 76% on Friday after a UK study on its COVID-19 vaccine candidate demonstrated 89% efficacy in preventing the virus.
In its UK trial with 15,000 participants, the vaccine prevented nine in ten cases, including against a new strain spreading in the country. Novavax observed 62 cases of COVID-19 in the study, with 56 in the placebo group, and six among the group that received the vaccine.
The vaccine did demonstrate clinical efficacy against both the UK and South Africa variant strains, but a separate trial in South Africa with 4,400 participants proved the vaccine was only 49% effective. That efficacy rose to 60% for the population within the study that did not have HIV, according to Novavax.
The company is continuing to gather data from its clinical trials and did not indicate if the results would be immediately submitted to the FDA for emergency use authorization.
Novavax also revealed that it is working on new constructs of its vaccine candidate that could be more effective against the mutating strains of COVID-19 found in different countries across the globe.
Shares of Novavax were initially up about 30% in pre-market trading on Friday, and got an extra boost after Johnson and Johnson said its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate was less effective than Novavax's, with an efficacy rate of 66%.
Shares of Novavax have soared more than 2,700% since the biotech company advanced the development of its novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate in late February of 2020.
Novavax intends to submit its results to a peer reviewed journal, and despite the strong data, it could be months before the vaccine is available to the public.
In its UK trial with 15,000 participants, the vaccine prevented nine in ten cases, including against a new strain spreading in the country. Novavax observed 62 cases of COVID-19 in the study, with 56 in the placebo group, and six among the group that received the vaccine.
The vaccine did demonstrate clinical efficacy against both the UK and South Africa variant strains, but a separate trial in South Africa with 4,400 participants proved the vaccine was only 49% effective. That efficacy rose to 60% for the population within the study that did not have HIV, according to Novavax.
The company is continuing to gather data from its clinical trials and did not indicate if the results would be immediately submitted to the FDA for emergency use authorization.
Novavax also revealed that it is working on new constructs of its vaccine candidate that could be more effective against the mutating strains of COVID-19 found in different countries across the globe.
Shares of Novavax were initially up about 30% in pre-market trading on Friday, and got an extra boost after Johnson and Johnson said its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine candidate was less effective than Novavax's, with an efficacy rate of 66%.
Shares of Novavax have soared more than 2,700% since the biotech company advanced the development of its novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate in late February of 2020.
Novavax intends to submit its results to a peer reviewed journal, and despite the strong data, it could be months before the vaccine is available to the public.