Novavax, a US pharmaceutical company, closed the fourth quarter of 2020 with a loss of $2,70 per share, a result lower than the estimates of analysts who had expected a red of 1,49 dollars per share.
Revenue was also down higher than expected, at $279,7 million. In the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, the overall net loss was 418,3 million dollars, or $7,27 per share, compared to a loss of $132,7 million, or $5,51 per share, for the same period in 2019.
However, positive news has arrived on the Covid vaccine, currently in phase III of experimentation. The company said the serum could be cleared for use in the US sooner than expected. The ok could arrive as early as May by both the FDA and the EMA. The latter is already submitting the preparation to the rolling review procedure. According to Novavax, its serum would 95.6% effective against the coronavirus, 89,3% against the English variant of the virus and 60% against the South African one (more than Moderna and Pfizer in the last case). The vaccine has already been studied in the United Kingdom and a few days ago Novavax announced that it had finished enrolling participants in the Prevent-It study in the United States and Mexico.
"With positive efficacy results, even against variants, the Novavax vaccine offers a unique profile, also due to the possibility of being shipped and stored at traditional temperatures - he said Stanley Erck, president and CEO of the company – We believe these characteristics support its emergency use authorization and have entered into dialogue with regulators to obtain it”.
The vaccine news does not seem to have convinced investors. Shares drop 10% on the Nasdaq at $217,68. We recall that Novavax stock recorded a record rise in 2020, closing the year with a four-digit gain: +2.697%, one of the best performances in the world. Between January and February, shares rallied again following the announcement of the preliminary results of laboratory studies on the anti-Covid vaccine.
