The European Union’s drugs regulator will determine on Monday the possibility of
authorizing Novavax’s vaccine against COVID-19. The manufacturer of this vaccine claims
that it is effective enough to persuade the sceptics.
If the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use
authorized the use of Novavax, it would be the fifth approved vaccine after Pfizer/BioNTech,
AstraZeneca/Oxford, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.
Novavax uses similar technology to the decades-old hepatitis B and pertussis vaccines. It is
more conventional technology than those used for the other vaccines already in use, as it
doesn’t require ultra-low temperatures storage.
The so-called protein “subunit” vaccine contains purified fragments of the pathogen, triggering an immune response.
Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines are messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. This innovative
technology injects strands of genetic instructions into the body that tell the patient’s cells
what to make to fight COVID.
AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson use viral vector technology, which uses a prevalent
type of virus called adenovirus, modified to carry genetic information in the body to fight the disease.
The mRNA vaccines have reported severe side effects of heart inflammation, while the virus vector vaccines have caused blood clots.
Novavax’s CEO, Stanley C. Erck, discussed with his company if their vaccine could help
overcome critical barriers to global vaccination, including the challenges of global distribution and vaccine hesitancy.
In June, the clinical trial results showed 90.4% efficacy against the disease and 100% against severe to moderate cases.
In addition, the company confirmed that it was “evaluating its vaccine against the Omicron variant” and working on a specific version of it.
Once the EMA authorizes the vaccine, the European Commission would perform the already signed contract with Novavax for the advance purchase of 200 million doses.
A group of MEP said that “The production problems of Novavax led to months of delays.”
Some countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, have already approved the Novavax jab, while Japan has agreed to buy 150 million doses.
Novavax seeks to get approval in Britain, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the World Health Organization.
