Gaithersburg's Novavax Starts Production On Coronavirus Vaccine

GAITHERSBURG, MD — The "first batch" of the coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by a Gaithersburg biotech company Novavax is being manufactured, the company announced Thursday.

The update comes as the company — which is backed by $1.6 billion from the Trump administration's "Operation Warp Speed" coronavirus vaccine initiative — faces scrutiny over the structure of its executive compensation tied to the vaccine's development. Multiple vaccine candidates are being researched worldwide as the outbreak continues.

For Novavax, its vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, would be the first vaccine brought to market in the company's three-decade history. (The company is also involved in developing an unrelated flu vaccine, which completed Phrase 3 trials in March.)

According to a company press release, Phase 2 human trials for NVX-CoV2373 began in May with 130 healthy Australian participants. Data from those trials are expected to be released in August, and "will consist of preliminary immunogenicity and safety results," the company said.

After Phase 3, which Novavax plans to start in the fall with "up to 30,000 subjects," the company says it is aiming to manufacturer and deliver 100 million doses "as early as late 2020."

However, on Wednesday, Novavax became the subject of a Reuters report that raised questions over the way its CEO Stanley Erck and other executives stand to benefit from the vaccine's development — even if the vaccine never makes it to market.

Citing company documents, Reuters reported that the Novavax awarded stock options worth $101 million to Erck and three other executive if the vaccine reaches the Phase 2 of its clinical trials.

The benchmark that would trigger "massive payouts before we know if the vaccine actually works,” Eli Zupnick, a spokesman for consumer watchdog Patients Over Pharma, told Reuters.

The vaccine is being manufactured by in a Morrisville, North Carolina facility run by Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. On Monday, President Donald Trump is expected to tour the facility and deliver remarks on coronavirus vaccine development.

Read also:

• Gaithersburg Company Awarded $1.6B To Develop COVID-19 Vaccine
• Gaithersburg's Novavax To Test Coronavirus Vaccine On Humans