Novavax to Receive $350 Million for Cancelled COVID Vaccine Orders in Canada
- by Rishma Parpia
- Published July 23, 2023
- Pharma
According to a securities filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by Novavax Inc. of Gaithersburg, Maryland on June 30, 2023, the government of Canada will pay the company $349.6 million to settle the forfeiting of doses of its Nuvaxovid recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine previously ordered and scheduled for delivery.1 2
Nuvaxvoid was licensed by Health Canada on Feb. 17, 2022 as a primary series in individuals 18 years of age and older.3 This was followed by the government’s approval of a booster shot on Nov. 18, 2023 for adults 18 years or older and,4 on Dec. 7, 2022, for use as a primary series in children 12 to 17 years old.5
The demand for COVID vaccines has declined in Canada. In 2022, Canada destroyed 13.6 million expired doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University’s Vaxzevria adenovirus vectored COVID vaccine, more than half of all the doses the country purchased, because it was unable to find other nations willing to take the vaccine, despite volunteering to donate them.6
Novavax to Jointly Manufacture COVID Vaccine With Canadian Government
The security filings states that payment from the government of Canada will be paid in two installments with the second installment contingent upon Novavax’s delivery of the remaining contracted doses of Nuvaxvoid in the second half of 2023.7
A contract signed in early 2021 involved the collaboration between Novavax and the Canadian government to manufacture Nuvaxvoid locally at the National Research Council of Canada’s Biologics Manufacturing Center in Montreal, Quebec.8 An additional clause was added to the agreement, which requires Novavax to make use of the Biologics Manufacturing Center to produce bulk antigen for vaccine doses scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025.9
The securities filing states that Canada can terminate the contract if Novavax does not receive regulatory approval for vaccine production at the Canadian government’s bio-manufacturing facility by Dec. 31, 2024.10
Novavax Stock Rose Nearly 30 Percent After Canada Agreed to Pay for Unused Vaccines
In response to this news by the Canadian government, Novavax’s stock price leaped by almost 30 percent due to the fact that this will increase cash flow into the company.11 The company’s stock price was down four percent since the beginning of the year after losing more than 90 percent of its value in 2022.12
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