In January last year, employees of Novavax Inc. meet at a local bar in Maryland to discuss how they can save their careers. The small biotechnology has been trying for decades to develop an approved vaccine without success. The company had enough cash to survive for just over six months, trading its shares below $ 4, with a market value of $ 127 million.
Novavax is currently in the process of approving a Covid-19 vaccine. Scientists believe that, if cleared, it could be one of the most powerful weapons against the pandemic, offering significant advantages over its competitors. Some early data suggest that the Novavax shot may be one of the first to show that it spreads asymptomatically from the coronavirus and that it may provide longer protection.
If the vaccine is granted, Novavax will still face the challenge of making and distributing it in large quantities. The firm sold some manufacturing assets in 2019 when it was desperate for cash.
Investors, who killed the 33-year-old company last year, bet regulators will approve Novavax’s vaccination over the next two months. They sent shares on Nasdaq to $ 229, up 106% so far this year. Late last month, Novavax released preliminary data indicating that the shot was effective in protecting against Covid-19, although less so against a new strain identified in South Africa, which is also a challenge for other shots. The results of the late-stage US trial of the vaccine could be announced at the end of next month.
Novavax now has a market value of $ 15.4 billion, larger than that of companies with billions of dollars in annual sales, including generic drug giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.