Novavax announced that its main candidate for a coronavirus vaccine - the NVX-CoV2373 - is expected to begin lab tests in phase 1 by middle of next month.
The research will enroll about 130 healthy adults and evaluate the amount of dosage and the number of vaccinations required for safety and effectiveness. A single dose with NVX-CoV2373 has shown efficacy against the novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, during pre-clinical trials, Novavax disclosed.
Novavax settled at $17.05, dropping -0.76 percent from its previous trading session. The move lagged the S&P 500's 1.45 percent rally for the day. Simultaneously, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.23 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.8 percent.
Coming into Thursday's after hours session, the Gaithersburg-based biotech shares in the past month climbed 63.46 percent. The medical sector lost 6.0 percent at the same time, while the S&P 500 shed 7.4 percent.
In animal tests, the candidate vaccine "produces high levels of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2," Gregory Glenn, president of Research and Development at Novavax, said in a statement.
The first round of clinical trial data is scheduled to be conducted in July. In March, Novavax announced it had obtained $4 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, a global agency that offered millions of dollars in support to vaccine makers during the pandemic.
CEPI manages a variety of projects to create an effective vaccine and has funded a range of programs. This includes donations to Moderna, which has already dosed the vaccine candidate to the first patients, as well as to Curevac, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and the University of Oxford.
Novavax signed an agreement with Emergent BioSolutions in March to provide contract production and manufacturing services. This covers the supplies for the manufacture of Novavax's vaccine drug for use in clinical trials.
Novavax will look to show momentum as it moves closer to the next report of earnings. It is estimated that the company will post an earnings per share of -$0.65, up 70.45 percent from the quarter of the previous year. Wall Street analysts' consensus forecast calls for $3.50 million in sales, down 12.06 percent from the previous quarter.
As vaccine developers speed up work to discover the most promising candidates, the United Kingdom's leading science advisor said a good vaccine is 12-18 months away from being produced and delivered to the general population on a wider scale.
Meanwhile, a growing number of companies are seeking to find proven treatments that may be useful in treating the novel coronavirus disease.
This includes the Japanese company Fujifilm Holdings Corp, which plans to repurpose its anti-flu medication Avigan (favipiravir) for COVID-19 patients.
