Operation Warp Speed, the White House's task force to expedite COVID-19 vaccine development, has signed its largest deal yet, granting $1.6 billion to Novavax for its candidate.
The Gaithersburg, Md-based drugmaker will use the funding to speed the production of 100 million doses of its vaccine by the beginning of 2021. Novavax has never brought f a product to market, but the candidate employs the same technology as its other experimental vaccines that have gone through late-stage testing.
Results from the vaccine's May safety trials in Australia are expected to be available in July, and Novavax plans to begin phase 3 efficacy testing during this fall.
"Adding Novavax’s candidate to Operation Warp Speed’s diverse portfolio of vaccines increases the odds that we will have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a July 7 news release.