By
Godfrey Benjamin
October 4th, 2023
NVAX stock price is skyrocketing these days as Novavax is getting one step closer to the development of its coronavirus vaccine.
Novavax Inc (NASDAQ: NVAX) stock price has jumped more than 35% in the past few hours. The reason for this jump is the receipt of a $1.6 billion grant by Novavax. The grant is a part of broad efforts to find a vaccine for the coronavirus.
“Operation Warp Speed” is a broad series of actions by the United States Federal government to find a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Novavax has already made significant progress in its trials. The company has indicated that the funds are for the late-stage development of its vaccine candidate “NVX-CoV2373”. It includes its stage 3 trials and initial manufacturing.
NVAX Stock Price Riseы as Novavax Gets Closer to COVID-19 Vaccine
Novavax will manufacture 100 million doses and deliver toward the end of 2020. The stage-3 trials will include about 30,000 participants.
Novavax (NVAX) will complete its stage 1/2 Australian trials at the end of July. The clinical trials commenced in May. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) provided $388 million in funding for the phase 1/2 trials.
It comes as other organizations are all in a heated race to find a vaccine for the COVID-19 pandemic. Before now, companies such as Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) and others have shown signs of promise.
It is too early to tell if this puts Novavax ( NVAX) in the lead. But its proprietary matrix-M adjuvant using a perfusion protein might be the gamechanger. $1.6 billion reasons helped.
Novavax CEO Stanley C. Erck said:
“The pandemic has caused an unprecedented public health crisis. We are honored to partner with Operation Warp Speed to move our vaccine candidate forward with extraordinary urgency in the quest to provide vital protection to our nation’s population.”
He continued:
“We are grateful to the U.S. government for its confidence in our technology platform, and are working tirelessly to develop and produce a vaccine for this global health crisis.”
Novavax (NVAX) stock price has grown exponentially by around 1,895% in the past 12 months.
At the time of writing, NVAX stock price is $107.62. It means that it is 35% up.
‘Coronavirus-Proof’ Securities
As the stock markets continue to rise and fall, many stocks are still suffering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bio-medical stocks seem to be a part of the “coronavirus-proof” securities that are ruling the financial landscape.
Larger companies like Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) have large war chests to beat Novavax( NVAX) in the vaccine race. It remains yet-to-be-seen if the boost from the United States Federal government will prove to be the winning push for the company.
The United States is currently in an election year. A win for Novavax could help the chances of the incumbent President. Should that happen, it will be one for the history books.