In January last year, employees of Novavax Inc. they met at a local Maryland bar to discuss how they could save their careers. For decades, small biotechnology had tried to develop an approved vaccine, without success. The company had enough cash to survive just six months or so and its shares traded at less than $ 4, with a market value of $ 127 million.
Today, Novavax is moving toward the authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine. Scientists believe that, if eliminated, it could be one of the most powerful weapons against the pandemic, offering potential key advantages over its competitors. Some early data suggest that Novavax may be one of the first to be shown to slow the asymptomatic spread of coronavirus and also provide more lasting protection.
If the vaccine is authorized, Novavax will still face the challenge of manufacturing and distributing it in large quantities. The firm sold some manufacturing assets in 2019, when it was desperate to get cash.
Investors, who left the 33-year-old company dead last year, are betting that regulators will authorize the Novavax vaccine in the next two months. They have shipped shares on the Nasdaq up to $ 229, up 106% so far this year. Late last month, Novavax released preliminary data indicating that its firing was effective in protecting against Covid-19, though less so against a new strain identified in South Africa that appears to be a challenge for other shots. The results of the final US trial of the vaccine could be released late next month.
Novavax now has a market value of $ 15.4 billion, higher than that of companies with billions of dollars in annual sales, including the generic drug giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.