Novavax Begins South African Efficacy Trial for COVID-19 Vaccine Hopeful

Novavax announced that it has begun a phase 2b clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373 in South Africa.

The study will assess the efficacy of the Maryland-based biotech’s experimental vaccine in approximately 2,665 healthy patients, as well as its safety and immunogenicity in approximately 240 HIV-positive adults.

South Africa is experiencing a winter surge of COVID-19 disease, and the trial “has the potential to provide an early indication of efficacy, along with additional safety and immunogenicity data,” said Gregory Glenn, Novavax’s president of research and development.