(GNB- Desk.): Novavax announced Thursday that the COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 96.4 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in its phase 3 U.K. trial.
Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, announced final efficacy of 96.4% against mild, moderate and severe disease caused by the original COVID-19 strain in a pivotal Phase 3 trial in the United Kingdom (U.K.) of NVX–CoV2373, the company’s vaccine candidate.
Novavax confirmed that:
– 100% protection against severe disease
– Final analysis in U.K. trial confirms 96% efficacy against original strain of COVID-19
– Efficacy against variants confirmed in U.K. and South Africa
During the trial, the vaccine was also 86.3 percent effective in protecting against B.1.1.7, the more contagious coronavirus variant first identified and now prevalent in the U.K. The trial enrolled 15,000 participants between ages 18 and 84, with 27 percent being older than 65.
In a separate, smaller phase 2b trial conducted in South Africa, the vaccine was 55.4 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. The participants in the South Africa trials were primarily exposed to B.1.351, a coronavirus variant that was first identified in South Africa and is more contagious than the one discovered in the U.K.
For both trials, the vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing COVID-19-related hospitalization and death.
Novavax expects to submit its U.K. trial data when applying for emergency use authorizations from regulatory agencies worldwide.
“We are very encouraged by the data showing that NVX-CoV2373 not only provided complete protection against the most severe forms of disease, but also dramatically reduced mild and moderate disease across both trials. Importantly, both studies confirmed efficacy against the variant strains,” said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. “Today marks one year since the WHO officially declared the COVID-19 pandemic, and with this data in hand, we are even more motivated to advance our vaccine as a potential weapon in the fight to end the suffering caused by COVID-19.”
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