NOVAVAX Notified by Department of Health and Human Services that
its Proposal for a Contract Award is in the Competitive Range for
the Advanced Development of its Recombinant Influenza
Vaccine
Press Release Source: Novavax, Inc. On Thursday April 22, 2010,
8:00 am EDT
ROCKVILLE, Md., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novavax, Inc.
(Nasdaq:NVAX - News) announced today that the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS), Biomedical Advanced Research and
Development Authority (BARDA), has determined the Company's
proposal to provide recombinant influenza vaccine products and
manufacturing capabilities for pandemic preparedness is in the
competitive range for award of an advanced development contract.
Novavax submitted its proposal in September 2009 in response to
Solicitation No. HHS-BARDA-09-32 for development of a new influenza
vaccine in a U.S. based manufacturing facility.
The BARDA solicitation states that contracts will be awarded to
vaccine manufacturers that satisfy several specific requirements.
BARDA's notification indicated that Novavax's proposal is in the
competitive range, which consists of the most highly rated
proposals. BARDA has proposed to conduct a pre-award site visit to
inspect Novavax's manufacturing facility in Rockville,
Maryland.
"Novavax is pleased that its response to BARDA's request for
proposal (RFP) is within the competitive range for award
consideration and we look forward to working with BARDA during the
next stages of the process," said Dr. Rahul Singhvi, President and
CEO of Novavax. "We have made significant progress over the past
several years in the development of our recombinant Virus-Like
Particle (VLP) vaccine candidates for both seasonal and pandemic
influenza (H5N1 and H1N1) and have now vaccinated over 4,200
subjects demonstrating both safety and immunogenicity of our
vaccine candidates. In addition, last year, in the midst of the
H1N1 pandemic, we were able to successfully demonstrate that we
could manufacture under cGMP, an H1N1 VLP vaccine candidate within
11 weeks after receiving the viral gene sequences from the
CDC."
About VLPs
Virus-like particles (VLPs) mimic the external structure of viruses
but lack the live genetic material that causes viral replication
and infection. VLPs can be designed quickly to match individual
viral strains and be produced efficiently using portable
cell-culture technology. Novavax's VLP-based vaccine candidates are
produced more rapidly than egg-based vaccines by using proprietary,
portable, recombinant cell-culture technology.
About Novavax
Novavax, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
creating novel vaccines to address a broad range of infectious
diseases worldwide, including H1N1, using advanced proprietary
virus-like-particle (VLP) technology. The company produces potent
VLP-based recombinant vaccines utilizing new and efficient
manufacturing approaches. Novavax is committed to using its VLP
technology to create country-specific vaccine solutions. The
company has formed a joint venture with Cadila Pharmaceuticals,
named CPL Biologicals, to develop and manufacture vaccines,
biological therapeutics and diagnostics in India. Additional
information about Novavax is available on the company's website:
www.novavax.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements herein relating to the award by HHS BARDA of a contract
for the advanced development of recombinant influenza vaccine, the
development of our vaccine products, vaccine safety and efficacy,
and the ability to quickly produce a vaccine product during a
pandemic and any other future financial or business performance or
matters are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Novavax cautions that
these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous
assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the
results discussed in the forward-looking statements include HHS
BARDA may not award any contract to Novavax, even though it has
notified Novavax that it is in the competitive range; the agency
will perform an on-site inspection which may prove to be
unsatisfactory to the agency; safety or efficacy issues not seen to
date may be encountered before the agency makes its decision which
could have a negative impact on the receipt of a contract award;
the company has not yet manufactured, or relied on third parties to
manufacture, any vaccines at a commercial scale which could have a
negative impact on the receipt of a contract award; historical and
current results may not be predictive of future trial results for
the seasonal vaccine or any other vaccine that we are developing or
may develop; further testing is required before regulatory approval
can be applied for and the FDA may not approve a vaccine even if
the results are similar or better than the results reported to
date; uncertainties related to the initiation, enrollment, progress
and completion of clinical trials; and whether Novavax could repeat
the 11-week production of a vaccine in a future pandemic could
depend on many factors outside the company's control including the
virus itself. Further information on the factors and risks that
could affect Novavax's receipt of a contract award or its business,
financial conditions and results of operations, is contained in
Novavax's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
which are available at www.sec.gov. These forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and
Novavax assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/NOVAVAX-Notified-by-prnews-126…