Novavax seeks emergency listing of Covid-19 vaccine from WHO

Novavax and its partner, the Serum Institute of India, have applied to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for an emergency-use listing of Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine, the company said on Thursday.

The WHO’s emergency use listing is a signal to national regulatory authorities on a product’s safety and efficacy.

It is also a prerequisite for export to several countries participating in the Covax vaccine sharing facility.

Novavax has said it would focus on low- and middle-income countries for initial supplies of the vaccine, as the US and other Western nations have already vaccinated a large part of their populations with other vaccines.

Novavax had previously said it would apply for the listing in August, marking a slight delay in the filing.

Novavax and Serum Institute, the world's largest vaccine producer, have committed to together providing more than 1.1-billion doses to the Covax facility, which aims to provide equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

The Novavax shot is a protein-based vaccine, and was shown to be more than 90% effective, including against a variety of concerning variants of the coronavirus in a large, late-stage US-based clinical trial. 

Reuters