03.11.20
Novavax adds inhouse capacity to bolster COVID-19 and flu vaccines
The first facility is a 122,000 square-foot plant in Gaithersburg, Maryland secured through a 15-year lease that will be built out and used for manufacturing, R&D, and offices from early 2021. It is located within a mile of Novavax’s headquarters. The second, also in Gaithersburg, is an 9.7-acre parcel of land acquired by Novavax for future development.
The two sites will support Novavax’s recombinant protein-based vaccines for COVID-19 and influzenza, currently in Phase III trials.
„The expansion of our physical footprint reflects Novavax’ significant growth as we work to both rapidly deliver a COVID-19 vaccine and progress NanoFlu, our influenza vaccine candidate, for regulatory submission and potential commercialization,” said Stanley Erck, CEO of Novavax.
The additional two Maryland facilities comes 16 months after the firm struck a deal with Catalent to sell the leases of facilities in Rockville and Gaithersburg.
“The sale to Catalent was needed at the time in the best interest of the company and all stakeholders – it was pre-COVID-19,” a Novavax spokesperson told this publication.
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