Last fall a huge driver of biotech companies was the outbreak of Ebola and the fear associated with this deadly disease. The reality is that this disease is still a threat to some countries when an outbreak occurs, but this has been somewhat mitigated. Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) is on the precipice of vaccinating Ebola, or at least according to its most recent clinical trial.
The company announced positive top-line data from a Phase 1 clinical trial of its Ebola virus glycoprotein (GP) recombinant nanoparticle vaccine candidate adjuvanted with Matrix-M as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Fifth Teleconference on Ebola Vaccine Clinical Trials.
This trial demonstrated that the Ebola GP vaccine was highly immunogenic, well-tolerated and, in conjunction with Novavax’ proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant, resulted in significant antigen dose-sparing.
The Ebola GP vaccine data, in conjunction with clinical data from Novavax’ H7N9 VLP vaccine candidate and preclinical data from its vaccine candidate for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, provided additional validation of the nanoparticle vaccine platform.
Ultimately the positive data represent the third time Novavax has leveraged the power of its platform technology to rapidly address an emerging threat, according to President and CEO Stanley Erck.
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Separately, Gregory Glenn, M.D., senior vice president, Research and Development, said:
We are pleased to have the opportunity to share these positive data with the WHO. Novavax’ recombinant nanoparticle technology and proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant differentiates our Ebola GP Vaccine. The phase 1 clinical data show that our vaccine was well-tolerated and elicited very high Ebola antibody responses. These data, together with two positive challenge studies in non-human primates, suggest that the Ebola GP Vaccine would be protective in humans.
Shares of Novavax initially were up 3% at $12.80 Tuesday morning but fell off afterward. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $12.66 and a 52-week trading range of $3.92 to $12.76.
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