By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Novavax stock (NASDAQ:NVAX) surged 11% Monday after it said it won a contract from the Israel government for its proposed Covid-19 vaccine.
Under the advance purchase agreement, Novavax will provide an initial 5 million doses of its protein-based vaccine with an option for Israel to purchase an additional 5 million. The company will work with the Ministry of Health to obtain the necessary authorizations and finalize plans for distribution in the country pending regulatory approval.
Israel was among the first few countries to have approved a booster following two shots of the vaccine. The country is also offering anyone over 60 a chance to get a fourth shot.
The contract marks a big win for Novavax which is late to the market with its Covid vaccine because of manufacturing issues, all of which it resolved. The vaccine has approvals from the E.U., the WHO, and in several countries. It expects to submit its application for emergency use authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in some time.
India’s Serum Institute is the contracted party to make the vaccines. Serum is also making AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shots.
The protein-based vaccine by Novavax has shown to be more than 90% effective, including against a variety of concerning coronavirus variants. The company plans to begin commercial manufacturing of a vaccine tailored to the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant this month, according to a previous report by Reuters.