Novavax Partners With Sanofi To Commercialize COVID-19 Vaccine

Novavax and Sanofi have announced a new partnership that will commercialize a non-mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in a move that the companies are saying will provide patients with “broader access” to healthcare.

In a press release that was shared on Friday, May 10, it was revealed that the joint partnership will also accelerate the “potential for development of a novel flu-COVID-19 combination product based on authorized vaccines with demonstrated efficacy and tolerability, potentially offering patients enhanced convenience and protection.”

The co-commercialization agreement will allow Sanofi to market Novavax’s existing COVID-19 vaccine, except in markets with existing Advance Purchase Agreements and India, Japan, and South Korea. In exchange, the adjuvanted vaccine will be solely licensed in combination with Sanofi’s flu vaccines.

Sanofi now also has a minority equity investment in the Maryland-based biotechnology company.

“This collaboration is important for Novavax and for global public health,” said John Jacobs, the CEO of Novavax, in a statement. “Our new partnership combines Novavax’s proprietary recombinant protein and nanoparticle technologies, Matrix™ adjuvant, and R&D expertise with Sanofi’s world-class leadership in launching and commercializing innovative vaccines.”

He added, “Together, we can broaden access to both our COVID-19 vaccine and our adjuvant to ensure more individuals can benefit from the protection vaccines can provide. Novavax is now in a stronger position to refocus our efforts on leveraging our technology platform and novel adjuvant in research and development and pipeline expansion to help advance our mission of developing life-saving vaccines to fight infectious diseases.”

The move is nothing if not bold on the part of both Sanofi and Novavax, especially since many companies have experienced a financial slump in sales of their COVID-19 vaccines.

Citing a decline in demand, AstraZeneca declared that it will be removing its COVID-19 vaccine from distribution. The official statement was made by the Cambridge, United Kingdom-based corporation on Wednesday, May 8.

Furthermore, the vaccine manufacturer’s marketing license was revoked, which means the product is no longer permitted for sale in the European Union (EU), according to a statement made by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the organization’s website. The vaccination was referred to as Vaxzevria in the market.