Novavax, Inc a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, with its partner, Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd announced that the companies have filed regulatory submissions for emergency use authorization of Novavax' recombinant nanoparticle protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate with Matrix-M™ adjuvant. The submissions were made to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and regulatory agencies in Indonesia and the Philippines.
"Today's submission of our recombinant nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine, the first protein-based option filed with any regulatory agency, represents a major milestone in Novavax' transformation into a commercial global vaccine company," said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. "This important step toward access to millions of doses of a safe and effective vaccine for countries with an urgent need to control the pandemic was made possible through our strategic partnership with Serum Institute of India, and it demonstrates the power of global collaboration."
SII and Novavax have now completed the submission of all modules required by regulatory agencies in India, Indonesia and the Philippines for the initiation of review of the vaccine, including preclinical, clinical, and chemistry, manufacturing and controls data. A Good Manufacturing Practice joint site inspection of SII was successfully completed by DCGI in May 2021.
A submission to the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use listing (EUL) based on the DCGI submission is expected to be filed in August. The grant of EUL by the WHO is a prerequisite for exports to numerous countries participating in the COVAX Facility, which was established to allocate and distribute vaccines equitably to participating countries and economies.
Novavax' COVID-19 vaccine is packaged as a ready-to-use liquid formulation in a vial containing ten doses. The vaccination regimen calls for two 0.5 ml doses (5 microgram antigen and 50 microgram Matrix-M adjuvant) given intramuscularly 21 days apart. The vaccine is stored at 2°- 8° Celsius, enabling the use of existing vaccine supply and cold chain channels.
SII is manufacturing, and developing, and is responsible for commercializing the vaccine in India. Novavax and SII have cumulative commitments to provide more than 1.1 billion doses to the COVAX Facility.
