Novavax soars 146% on $1.2 billion Sanofi vaccine licensing deal
Novavax Inc. shares surged after the company signed a $1.2 billion licensing agreement with Sanofi that includes commercializing a combined Covid-19 and flu shot.
Novavax will receive $500 million in upfront payments as well as a further $700 million if all development, regulatory and launch milestones are met, according to a statement Friday. Novavax, which will receive tiered royalties on any vaccine sales, said Sanofi is also taking a minority equity stake of about 5% in the US company.
Novavax shares rose as much as 146% in early trading in New York and the stock is on track for its biggest one-day increase on record. The stock was trading at $10.30 a share on Friday, although this is still well off a peak of about $320 in early 2021.
The pact links two big players in the vaccine world that both missed out on the rush to develop and commercialize Covid shots quickly during the pandemic. Amid various setbacks, Sanofi and Novavax ceded tens of billions of dollars in sales to nimbler messenger-RNA developers including the Pfizer-BioNTech alliance and Moderna Inc.
Now, Sanofi will have the rights to drive sales of Novavax’s Covid-19 shot worldwide from next year, except for in India, Japan and South Korea, where Novavax already has advance purchasing agreements. The French drugmaker also has the sole license to use Novavax’s protein-based Covid shot in combination with its flu shot, which it said will offer patients “enhanced convenience and protection against two serious respiratory viruses.”
Sanofi will also
