Novavax says vaccine targeting Covid and flu shows promising results in early data

A health worker prepares a dose of the Novavax vaccine as the Dutch Health Service Organization starts with the Novavax vaccination program on March 21, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Novavax said its vaccine targeting both Covid-19 and the flu triggered an immune response similar to its stand-alone shots against each virus, in an early indication that a combination vaccine targeting both viruses could prove effective.

During a call with reporters, the company's Chief Medical Officer said that the company's early phase clinical trial found that up to 25 micrograms of the Covid formula combined with 35 micrograms of the flu formula triggered a promising level of protective antibodies.

We were able to get the immune responses comparable to what the individual vaccines did prior to combination.

All of the participants in the phase one trial had received Covid vaccines. The data will be presented at the World Vaccine Congress on Wednesday.

A phase two trial will be conducted this year to confirm the appropriate levels, and a phase three trial will be conducted during the 2023 flu season.

Public health experts think that Covid will become a seasonal respiratory virus similar to the flu that will require annual vaccine because immunity from the shots fades over time. When Covid and the flu are circulating at the same time, the vaccine makers are racing to develop combination shots that will make it easier for people to get protected.

Dubovsky said that combination vaccines are an attractive public health intervention.

Novavax, an early participant in the U.S. government's 2020 race to develop Covid shots, does not currently have an authorized vaccine. The FDA is still reviewing Novavax's application.

The Covid vaccine uses different technology than Pfizer's and Moderna's shots, which rely on messenger RNA to turn human cells into factories that produce copies of the virus spike. The spike is the part of the virus that causes disease.

Novavax's shots are able to fully synthesise the virus spike outside the human body. The spike is put into a baculoviruses that causes insect cells to produce copies of the genetic code for the spike. The spike copy can cause Covid and is injected into people to induce an immune response.

An extract from the bark of a tree in South America is used in the vaccine to induce a broader immune response. The vaccine against shingles and malaria uses the adjuvant. The Covid shots have a spike copy of 5 and a adjuvant of 50.

Novavax uses the same technology for its stand-alone flu vaccine candidate.

The combination vaccine has a higher dose than the stand-alone shot, but it is within the range of the other Covid vaccines.

The 25 microgram vaccine was found to be safe and well-tolerated in the trial. He said injection site pain, fatigue and headaches were the most common side effects.