Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine was shown to be 89.3 percent effective at preventing infection with the virus in a phase 3 trial conducted in the U.K., the drugmaker said Jan. 28.
The trial, which included more than 15,000 people ages 18 to 84, also showed significant clinical efficacy against the virus variant discovered in the U.K., called B.1.1.7.
Among the 62 people in the trial who were infected with COVID-19, 56 were in the placebo group and six were in the vaccine group. Of the 62 people, about half were infected with B.1.1.7, Novavax said.
The trial showed the vaccine candidate was 95.6 percent effective against the original virus strain and 85.6 percent effective against the U.K. virus variant. Novavax said that adverse events occurred at low levels in the trial and were balanced between vaccine and placebo groups.
A separate phase 2 study conducted in South Africa showed the shot was about 49.4 percent effective, and more than 90 percent of the people who were infected with COVID-19 in that trial were infected with the variant found in South Africa, known as B.1.351.
Novavax said that due to the results, it plans to immediately begin developing a vaccine specifically targeted to B.1.351.
The drugmaker has started the process of requesting authorization from U.K. regulators for its vaccine candidate. It could be authorized in the U.S. by April, according to The Wall Street Journal, though the U.S. will likely base its decision to approve the vaccine on a trial being conducted in the U.S. and Mexico.
The vaccine candidate differs from Pfizer and Moderna's in that it is protein-based instead of mRNA-based.
Read the full news release here.
More articles on pharmacy:
Oklahoma trying to give back $2M hydroxychloroquine stockpile
Walgreens taps Starbucks exec as new CEO
Sanofi to manufacture 125M doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine