Novavax Expands Vaccine Manufacturing Capacity to 2 Billion Doses

Novavax has expanded its COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing agreement with the Serum Institute of India to produce more than 2 billion doses of the vaccine annually.

The Maryland-based drugmaker chose the Serum Institute last month to commercialize NVX-2373 in low- and middle-income countries, as well as in India. The agreement supported the production of a minimum of 1 billion doses of the vaccine for these countries (DID, Aug. 7).

Under the expanded agreement, the institute will also manufacture the antigen component of the vaccine, which is derived from the coronavirus spike protein. Novavax anticipates the deal will help boost its manufacturing capacity to 2 billion doses per year by mid-2021.

Novavax CEO Stanley Erck said the company will “continue to work with extraordinary urgency” to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, which is currently in phase 2 testing in the U.S., Australia and South Africa. He said phase 3 trials should start around the world “in the coming weeks.”

The Serum Institute will be one of five manufacturers helping Novavax produce the antigen from facilities on three continents. The company has already partnered with Biofabri, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, SK Biosciences and Takeda Pharmaceuticals to manufacture the antigen.

The vaccine also requires Novavax’s Matrix-M adjuvant that boosts the immune system to produce high levels of neutralizing antibodies. Novavax has signed deals with AGC Biologics and the PolyPeptide Group to manufacture the vaccine’s adjuvant component. — Jordan Williams