Bug bites back: Novavax’s WHO authorization marks multiple firsts

Novavax has managed a string of firsts with WHO’s issuance of an emergency use listing for the company’s Covovax. It’s the first authorization of one of the Maryland company’s products, the first adjuvanted and first protein therapy for COVID-19, and the first produced for any indication using an insect cell baculovirus system.

The authorization adds a valuable tool to the global armamentarium against COVID-19 as Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) has partnered with the Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. — the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume — to produce the product. Last month, Novavax said that next year it expects to have annual capacity of more than 2 billion doses...