Vaccines save millions of lives every year, and the development of safe and effective vaccines is a giant step forward for humanity.

Programs for mass immunization have already proven successful in controlling and even eliminating certain diseases. Companies for vaccines offer a chance for a longer and healthier life.

Scientist Bror Morein recognized the need for new vaccines to protect the world from modern infectious diseases when he launched Novavax, Inc. in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 1987.

Novavax is a late-stage biotechnology enterprise that promotes better-quality health worldwide by discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases.

Founded to make a difference, Novavax Company has recently initiated the development of NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’s vaccine candidate for the virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

If you are curious to learn about Novavax and its strategy to stay on top of the biotechnology industry, keep reading!

Great Scientists are Born, not Made

Born to impact immunology significantly, Bror Morein was an outstanding child. Bror was interested in science, and he has been hungry for scientific information from a young age.

As soon as he graduated, Bror tested the waters of entrepreneurship and founded Svanova AB in 1971. He gained a lot of experience in diagnostics against serious infectious diseases, and 2 years later, he decided to focus on comprehensive scientific research. Bror created the ISCOM technology and developed it together with his co-workers in the 1980s when he co-founded Novavax (formerly Isconova). Novavax Inc., originating at SLU (the Swedish University of Agricultural Science) in Uppsala, was backed up by over 450 scientific publications related to ISCOM technology, highlighting immunological properties.

Between 1987 and 2013, Novavax mainly focused on scientific research, which motivated Bror to leave this company and continue searching for answers. Novavax saw massive potential in Stanley Erck, who held an MBA from the University Of Chicago when he became Chief in 2009.

Stanley worked hard and proved his skills in developing infectious disease products and was named as a new Chief Executive Officer and president in 2011.

Huge Potential, Low Results

In 2013, Novavax developed the Matrix-M platform and gave a new name to its new subsidiary Novavax AB. Changes always inject fresh energy, and in 2015, Stanley was happy to announce that Noavavax completed a Phase I trial for its Ebola vaccine candidate. Even more interesting, Novavax also conducted a phase II study in grown persons for its RSV vaccine, also known as ResVax. The team behind Novavax celebrated their success at stimulating resistance to stubborn respiratory syncytial virus infection, which targets both infants and adults.

Unfortunately, the following years weren’t so successful, and in 2016 the first phase III trial of the vaccine RestVax failed. Novavax faced a reduced stock price of 85%, but Stanley and his team continued working on improving their product. The company's problems led to a 3 part strategy, including cost reduction, bringing back ResVax to market, and starting clinical trials on a Zika-virus vaccine.

Stanley followed the Nanovax strategy, but 2019 was truly hand for the company as ResVax's late-stage clinical testing failed for a second time.

Being on the market for more than 20 years, Novavax needed to take strict measures to keep its position.

Brighter Days for Novavax and Bror

A quadrivalent influenza vaccine known as NanoFlu finished Phase II clinical trials effectively in 2019, which returned the smile on Stanley’s face.

In January 2020, FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) granted Novavax fast-track designation to proceed to Phase III trials. Before this trial was completed in March 2020, Stanley had announced the development of NVX-CoV2373, a vaccine candidate that may create immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

For the first time, Novavax showed its power and potential as it competed shoulder-to-shoulder with their competition for developing the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. It wasn’t easy as some of the Novavax competitors happened to be AstraZeneca Plc, GSK plc, Merck & Co Inc, and Novartis AG.

The year 2021 was perfect for Novavax because the company completed phase III trials which showed 89% efficacy against the modern Covid-19, and offers strong immunity against the newest variants, as well. May 2021 was beneficial since Novavax and Moderna made a deal with the government of South Korea to produce their COVID-19 vaccines.

The same year, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and Novavax stated that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare intended to buy 150 million doses of TAK-019, Novavax's vaccine candidate, which was still pending regulatory approval.

More Powerful than Ever Before

Novavax finished 2021, providing 2 doses of an effective vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 variant called the omicron variant. Today, Novavax Inc is a highly renowned biotechnology company that creates and develops various vaccines to stop a wide range of serious infectious diseases. Popular for developing genetically-engineered vaccines, its pipeline products comprise NanoFlu for seasonal influenza, NVX-CoV2373 for coronavirus, ResVax for respiratory syncytial syndrome, and vaccines against Ebola virus, MERS, and SARS.

Nanovax counts over 1,500 employees and operates research and production facilities in Uppsala, Sweden; Gaithersburg, Maryland; and Bohumil, Czech Republic. The headquarters is in Gaithersburg, Maryland, the US.

Novavax IPO

Novavax is one of the rare companies that both private and public investors have financed, and institutional investors hold about 50% of their free-float shares.

In 2015, Novavax got an $89 million research grant from the mega-popular Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The purpose of this generous sum was to support the development of a vaccine that fights the human respiratory syncytial virus in infants through maternal immunization.

Another financial injection came for Novavax in May 2020. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) transferred $384 million to the Novavax account to fund an early-stage trial of a vaccine candidate for Covid-19 in healthy adults.

Except for NVX-CoV-2373, Novavax was able to use that money to develop additional resources in preparation for massive manufacturing in case the vaccine proved effective. CEPI had invested $4M in March, as well, so Novavax was on its way to the top. During the Donald Trump administration, on July 7, 2020, the United States government from the Operation Warp Speed program awarded Novavax a $1.6 billion loan. That loan was supposed to cover the testing, production, and commercialization of a would-be coronavirus vaccine across the United States. Novavax aimed to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine by January 2021.

The price for the Novavax shares, NASDAQ: NVAX, has risen and fallen many times so far, and today their price range is between $50 and $57.

Up till 2022, the company has raised a total of $2.4 billion over 7 rounds.

Novavax Future Plans

Novavax is a 34 years old company that has a huge history and defined plans. The leadership of Novavax has an aim to produce over 2 billion vaccine doses this year and to open new offices worldwide.

The company also intends to develop new vaccine candidates for new potentially serious infectious diseases and improve some of their existing ones.

The team powering Novavax has developed a strategy to attract new investors to support their work and some new research and upcoming clinical trial processes.

By offering booster dosages of the Covid-19 vaccine, Novavax plans to become more competitive and increase the value of its shares.

It looks like nothing can stop Novavax on its way to expanding the reach of its Covid-19 vaccine to additional markets and populations. By strengthening their commercial capabilities and developing their pipeline of respiratory vaccines, we will continue to witness their success in the future!