Novavax Inc said Tuesday that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced high levels of antibodies to the new coronavirus, according to initial data from a small, early-stage clinical trial, which raised the company's stock to 10%.
The company said it could start a large key Phase III trial in late September, adding in a conference call that it could produce between 1 and 2 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021.
Novavax head of research Gregory Glenn told Reuters that the late-stage clinical trial could get enough data to get regulatory approvals as early as December.
Novavax, based in Maryland, said its vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, produced higher levels of antibodies in healthy volunteers after two doses than those found in patients recovered from COVID-19, raising hopes for their eventual success.
The addition of the company's adjuvant Matrix-M, a substance designed to stimulate the body's immune response, improved the effect of the vaccine in the study, the company said.
The Novavax vaccine is among the first in a handful of programs selected to receive US funding under Operation Warp Speed, the White House program to accelerate access to vaccines and treatments that can fight the virus.
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