A new vaccine called Novavax - with no mRNA - will be here soon
Phase 3 clinic trials show a new vaccine called Novavax – or NVX-CoV2373 - is 90.4 percent effective and while it contains no mRNA, it's also protective against many of the new COVID variants.
According to Infectious diseases physician and microbiologist, Associate Professor Paul Griffin, this means it’s likely to become “a very important part of our vaccination strategy moving forward.”
Australia has ordered 51 million doses of Novavax and these could be here within three months or at the latest, by early 2022.
The trial of the vaccine involved 29,960 participants spread across 119 sites in the US and Mexico. The results indicate the vaccine offers 100% protection against moderate and severe disease.
Associate Professor Griffin - who was a Principal Investigator for Novavax’s phase 1/2 study
in Australia – said these results suggest the vaccine could be rolled out in Australia within a few months or at the latest, by the start of next year.
“This is a vaccine that we’re getting more and more data to support the fact that it’s safe and effective,” Associate Professor Griffin told newsGP.
“Pending supply, I think it’s certainly a vaccine we should have by the end of the year, and maybe in as little as three months or so,” Associate Professor Griffin added.
Australia has ordered 51 million doses of the vaccine
Earlier this year, Novavax and the Australian Federal Government confirmed an advance purchase agreement for a total of 51 million doses of the vaccine. Novavax is now working with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to secure the vaccine’s approval.
According to Associate Professor Griffin, even considering recent orders placed with Moderna and Pfizer for more of their respective vaccines, the Novavax vaccine is still likely to play an important role, especially as it’s stable at 2–8°C.
“It’s a very different type of vaccine to Moderna and Pfizer,” said Associate Professor Griffin. “Those mRNA vaccines do require to be frozen at quite cold temperatures so aren’t as easy to move around.
“In a country like ours, particularly as we expand the roll-out to include more remote GP practices and even pharmacies, that makes Novavax ideally suited to those type of applications.”
25 million doses of Moderna confirmed as well
Last month the Federal Government confirmed an agreement with Moderna to supply 25 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, while 4.5 million additional Pfizer doses have already arrived in Australia.
Associate Professor Griffin said he believes the Novavax vaccine is the one most likely to be used as a vaccine in its own right, rather than as a booster.
“We would all like to think we would have enough people vaccinated by the time Novavax is available for it to be used as a booster, but I just don’t think we’re going to be there,” he said.
“I think it will have a really important role to play in being the primary vaccine for a significant proportion of the country,” Associate Professor Griffin added.
Will the Delta strain have an impact on the vaccine’s efficacy?
Associate Professor Griffin said he’s not concerned about the impact of the Delta variant on the efficacy of the Novavax vaccine.
“I think we have seen enough information from the other vaccines to suggest that while the efficacy is reduced, it still remains an efficacious vaccine,” he said.
“We wouldn’t expect this to be any different so it will still provide protection against those variants,” he added.
Associate Professor Griffin said further studies will help to give a clearer indication of how protective the vaccine is against evolving variants.
Vaccine was trialled extensively
The trial of the vaccine’s efficacy was carried out from 25 January through 30 April this year when the Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant – identified in the UK – was the predominant strain in the US.
While the earlier phase 1/2 trial showed very promising antibody responses, the phase 3 trial was set up to establish how effective the vaccine is, as well as its safety and immunogenicity, in communities Novavax said had been the most affected by the disease.
Data suggests the vaccine candidate is ‘well tolerated’, with adverse events ‘low in number and balanced between vaccine and placebo groups’, Novavax reported in its announcement.
Tenderness in the area of the injection, described as generally mild-to-moderate, was cited as the most common symptom, lasting less than three days. Fatigue, headache and muscle pain featured as the common systemic symptoms, reported as lasting less than two days.
Once wide-scale manufacturing begins, the vaccine is expected to come in a ready-to-use liquid format in 10-dose vials.
As of yet, there is no deal in place to manufacture the vaccine on Australian soil, but Associate Professor Griffin said he is still hopeful that one might eventuate.
“A lot of people are speculating [manufacturing in Australia] is a possibility,” he said. “It would be great to see as supply remains a significant restraint.”
Image: Getty Images