Novavax, a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases, announced that the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (NVX-CoV2373) has received expanded emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide a two-dose primary series for active immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in adolescents aged 12 through 17.

"Having more vaccine options for use in both adults and adolescents, like the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted will hopefully help increase vaccination rates, particularly as we prepare for ongoing surges of COVID-19 with the start of fall and the back-to-school season," said Stanley C. Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. "We hope that our vaccine, developed using an innovative approach to recombinant protein vaccine technology, may have a special role in adolescent vaccination based on parents' and caregivers' familiarity with protein-based vaccines used in other disease areas."

The FDA EUA decision was based on data from the ongoing pediatric expansion of the Phase 3 PREVENT-19 trial of 2,247 adolescents aged 12 through 17 years across 75 sites in the U.S., to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted. In pediatric expansion, the vaccine achieved its primary efficacy endpoint with clinical efficacy of 78.29% (95% CI: 37.55%, 92.45%) overall at a time when the Delta variant was the predominant circulating SARS-CoV-2 strain in the U.S. The efficacy analysis was supported by assessment of antibody titers that were shown to be higher in adolescents than in young adults.

The next step for the vaccine is a policy recommendation for use from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Doses of the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted are available for use in adolescents upon the CDC's recommendation.

In July 2022 the U.S. FDA had granted EUA for a two-dose primary series in adults aged 18 and older, followed by a recommendation from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and endorsement from the CDC.

This project has been supported in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), through the Department of Defense Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) under contract number MCDC2011-001.