Novavax Says It's Making Covid-19 Vaccine to Protect Against New 'Omicron' Variant

Novavax Inc said on Friday it had started working on a version of its Covid-19 vaccine to target the variant detected in South Africa and would have the shot ready for testing and manufacturing in the next few weeks.

The company’s Covid-19 shot contains an actual version of the virus’ spike protein that cannot cause disease but can trigger the immune system. The vaccine developer said it had started developing a spike protein specifically based on the known genetic sequence of the variant, B.1.1.529. “The initial work will take a few weeks,” a company spokesperson said.

Novavax’s vaccine received its first emergency use approval earlier this month in Indonesia followed by the Philippines.

The pharmaceutical giant has also applied for authorisation for their coronavirus vaccine in the EU with a decision possible “within weeks”. The jab, if approved, would be the fifth authorised for use within the EU — the other four are made by Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

The assessment of the vaccine, which goes under the brand name Nuvaxovid, would be carried out “under an accelerated timeline”, the European Medicines Agency said.

An opinion on the marketing authorisation could be issued within weeks “if the data submitted are sufficiently robust and complete to show the efficacy, safety and quality of the vaccine”, the medicines watchdog said.

“If EMA concludes that the benefits of Nuvaxovid outweigh its risks in protecting against Covid-19, it will recommend granting a conditional marketing authorisation,” it said.

Working differently to other vaccines, Nuvaxovid contains tiny particles made from a version of a protein found on the surface of the coronavirus spike protein, made in a laboratory. It also contains a substance to help strengthen the immune responses to the vaccine.

“When a person is given the vaccine, their immune system will identify the protein particles as foreign and produce natural defences — antibodies and T cells — against them,” the EMA said.

If a vaccinated person later came into contact with the coronavirus, “the immune system will recognise the spike protein on the virus and be prepared to attack it”. “The antibodies and immune cells can protect against Covid-19 by working together to kill the virus, prevent its entry into the body’s cells and destroy infected cells,” the EMA said.

The vaccination regimen calls for two 0.5 millilitre jabs, given intramuscularly 21 days apart, Novavax said in a statement.

Nuvaxovid is stored between 2 – 8 degrees Celsius “enabling the use of existing vaccine supply and cold chain channels,” it added. Novavax, a company based in the US state of Maryland, says its vaccine has 90 percent efficacy against Covid-19, based on a North American study.

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