European Commission Agrees to Buy Up To 200 Million Doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 Vaccine

The European Commission has struck an advance purchase agreement for up to 200 million doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373.

The Gaithersburg, Md.-based company said the agreement covers the purchase of up to 100 million doses with an option for an additional 100 million doses through 2023. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Novavax said it expects to complete its submission to the European Medicines Agency for authorization of the vaccine by the end of September.

Unlike the messenger-RNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna or the adenovirus-based vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, NVX-CoV2373 combines a recombinant protein and an adjuvant designed to boost the body’s immune response. In a late-stage trial, the vaccine proved to be 100 percent effective in preventing moderate and severe disease, and more than 90 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infections.