The company yesterday announced a clinical development partnership with PATH to develop its RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine to protect infants through maternal immunization in low-resource countries. PATH is an international non-profit organization that takes an entrepreneurial approach to developing and delivering lifesaving vaccines and devices in more than 70 countries. Novavax has been awarded approximately $2 million by PATH for initial funding to partially support a Phase II dose-ranging clinical trial in women of childbearing age for its RSV vaccine.
RSV is highly contagious and the most common cause of childhood respiratory infection globally, with 64 million cases, causing about 160,000 deaths every year. Sadly, at the moment, there is no approved RSV vaccine available on the market. This is the logic behind PATH’s $2 million partnership with Novavax after it saw the successful Phase I study. The Phase II study of the RSV vaccine, planned for later this year, will be designed to evaluate the immune response to different doses of this vaccine candidate in women of childbearing age.
If the results from the Phase II study are positive, PATH has the option to continue to partner with Novavax to provide support (perhaps as high as 50% of costs) commercialization of the vaccine. Novavax will retain global rights to commercialize the vaccine. The goal of the partnership would be to immunize pregnant women, such that high levels of RSV antibodies will be transmitted to their children. This will provide protection against infection during the early infancy period, when the disease is most likely to strike.
For additional information about Novavax, its RSV vaccine, and other products, please visit the company’s website at www.novavax.com
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