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COVID-19Novavax vaccine 96% effective against original coronavirus version in UK trial (reuters.com)

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[–]Swimming_Explorer629 270 points271 points  (15 children)

Hipsters with their original coronaviruses.

[–]chiagod 109 points110 points  (8 children)

New COVID is great and all, but I prefer COVID Classic.

[–]Tulki 27 points28 points  (1 child)

Crystal Covid gave me the shits.

[–]nath999 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Try COVID Zero for a healthier option.

[–]406highlander 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I'm not sure I want to try COVID Max.

[–]qwerty12qwerty 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All the great fatality as the original covid, but half the symptoms!

[–]hobokobo1028 5 points6 points  (0 children)

COVID Vanilla*

[–]king063 1 point2 points  (1 child)

What about COVID Blāk?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Diet COVID

[–]sublime_cheese 4 points5 points  (1 child)

You should check out the new mods!

[–]justabill71 10 points11 points  (0 children)

We get it, you virus.

[–]Bad_Mad_Man 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You haven’t heard about it. I lost my sense of smell before everyone got sick.

[–]Muzoa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"How many times we gotta teach you this lesson old coronavirus .."

[–]shuaz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah I've seen COVID live a few times.

[–]Fenor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

at first i read "no vax maccine effective" and i was like "wait what?" than i reread the sentence

[–]LoveAGlassOfWine 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Good news! That's the highest rate of effectiveness we've seen for the South Africa variant too.

[–]ApizzaApizza 89 points90 points  (16 children)

I owned 600 shares of their stock after their flu vaccine failed to pass trials in 2019...sold it for $350.

Fuck me.

[–]gopoohgo 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Buy high sell low.

This is the way

[–]D2WilliamU 49 points50 points  (0 children)

/r/wallstreetbetsnew would welcome a fellow crayon eater

[–]bionix90 4 points5 points  (1 child)

That's what you get, paper hands.

[–]ApizzaApizza 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I didn’t start eating crayons until later in life. I apologize.

[–]FrozenGrip 4 points5 points  (4 children)

How much is a share worth now?

[–]Phrozen761 29 points30 points  (1 child)

trading at $230 after hours right now. I had 45 shares back in the day when it was $1.5 a share. man

[–]dArk_frEnzy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Wow congrats lol

[–]ApizzaApizza 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Would be $138k total if I held until today.

[–]ahm713 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is....crazy to say the least.

[–]SonnySaveCalvin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My condolences.... I have been there as well. Fuck it, it's only money.

[–]ryuujinusa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought all the major vaccine companies stock back in April, made a fair bit off moderna but sold them before the final surge (that was obviously coming), stupidly. I also bought and sold novavax before it amounted to anything. Basically I’m an idiot.

[–]jimflaigle 66 points67 points  (3 children)

The original strain? From back on the days of Vanilla Ice and Crystal Pepsi?

Or maybe last Tuesday. It's getting confusing.

[–]justabill71 32 points33 points  (2 children)

Corona Classic

[–]mart1373 3 points4 points  (0 children)

New Coke

[–]Mkwdr 34 points35 points  (10 children)

“Final results from the Novavax trial provide further hope as daily COVID-19 deaths spike in Britain, likely driven by the UK variant.”

Huh? Has the writer missed something?

And these reports always seem a little unclear to me - does 96% include asymptomatic cases? The article seems to suggest it does but I’m not sure.

[–]Barry_144 32 points33 points  (3 children)

No, 96% for symptomatic cases. Asymptomatic cases are outside the scope of the trial. They don't test for asymptomatic covid within the trial.

[–]Mkwdr 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Thanks.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

They didn't do this for the other "high number" trials either btw. I think only the brazilian trial of Sinovac did complete testing of everyone every few days. J&J I don't know, they might have.

[–]Mkwdr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did read OxfordAZ did test for asymptomatic cases but Pfizer not in their original trials. The U.K. government is starting to do some head to head comparison studies I think.

[–]Neutrino_gambit 11 points12 points  (5 children)

Also, what spike? There has been no spoke in deaths.

We had a second wave, as everywhere did, if thats what it means

[–]Mkwdr 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I presume. I mean it was the case that the new variant seemed to have worsened a wave - but that was a few weeks (? ) ago now.

[–]Neutrino_gambit 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Yea, this article seems to be just making shit up

[–]Mkwdr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well it’s was true at one point, just rather out of date.

[–]helm 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Third spike in the UK around Christmas was a lot due to B.1.1.7

[–]Neutrino_gambit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh, that's really hard to say. Maybe yea. But also restrictions came off, winter came around, lots of factors.

It's really hard to say what actually caused it.

[–]UltimateWerewolf 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Noice. I’m in a trial for this one.

[–]smurfettekcmo 7 points8 points  (7 children)

I have been following this vaccine development closely. Of the new tech it’s the only one that will present the spike protein in its natural confirmation or shape. Also only one combined with an additional adjuvant that is supposed to stimulate the immune response. I think time will show this is the most effective Covid vaccine but again only time will tell.

[–]FarawayFairways 2 points3 points  (6 children)

I have been following this vaccine development closely.

I've been trying to, but there's been something of a news blackout against it. Novavax are a smaller company than the other giants and don't seem to play the PR game as well. It's become something of the 'forgotten' vaccine, yet with its efficacy figures, a tried and tested platform, and the ability to distribute at fridge temperature, it could be the best of the lot.

Have you come across any dates when production is expected to start (I've heard early April mentioned?). Are you aware of them having commenced any advance manufacture at risk? and if so, where and for whom?

[–]smurfettekcmo 2 points3 points  (5 children)

Not other than what was in this article. I agree in that most of the vaccines developed have had to team up with other larger companies to help with manufacturing and distribution. These guys will probably get left behind if they don’t do the same. This vaccine also would seem safer too. Only lab grown spike proteins and an adjuvant made from a tree. Wish I new more about the adjuvant part that is proprietary that holds the spike proteins in place.

[–]FarawayFairways 5 points6 points  (4 children)

I believe they've built a unique adjuvant that they trademarked

I'm not sure that Novavax are as small as we think though in terms of how they've scaled things. IIRC they got a sizeable investment from Fuji who placed a bet on them, and Takeda bought the rights to distribute in Japan with the Japanese government placing a 250m order

They obviously have an arrangement with India which is referenced in the article, and last month they announced a new venture with Canada which will take about 6 months to begin though

They have other orders with the UK and Australia, as well as the ones in the US. I think its Fuji factory that the UK is using to produce their 60m order

I'd imagine though that they're stretched to their capacity however, and they might even take the decision not to risk supplying the European Union even if they did belatedly place an order now. If I were them I'd certainly apply a risk enhancement in my price having watched the way they've been running round bad mouthing every other supplier they have, or threatening legal action

Just as an aside, the Novavax vaccine is a recombinant (the same as Sanofi) the UK assessed them both to be of equal merit and ordered in equal quantities (60m each). The European Commission ordered 300m Sanofi and zero Novavax. I wonder who Ursula von der Leyen is going to blame for this one? Given that Novaavx had achieved the most impressive results of the lot in primate tests and convalescent plasma their oversight in failing to hedge their options on this particular platform is quite bewildering and does of course smack of the dead hand of the French orchestrating a home town procurement decision in favour of Sanofi

[–]smurfettekcmo 2 points3 points  (1 child)

It contains two adjuvants one that holds the protein in place and one that stimulates the immune response. The later comes from a tree. The first one is the proprietary one. This isn’t a recombinant in the same way as the adenovirus ones. It uses a baculoviruses recombinant system to grow the proteins. Baculoviruses grown in an insect cell line which grows at room temperature. I have worked with the system in research. The nice benefit will be it uses different media to grow then these other vaccines so it won’t put yet another drain on all the supplies of media which is effecting many other types of vaccine manufacturing including animal vaccine production. I have a background in recombinant vaccine development. I am one of 3 inventors on a patent for a GMO bird flu vaccine.

I didn’t know about the other investors. Hadn’t really followed the business side more the science side. I hope this one will benefit more parts of the world.

[–]FarawayFairways 3 points4 points  (0 children)

IIRC, it had the highest antibody count against convalescent plasma of all the candidates and out scored the others in primate tests too?

It's one I've had my eye on, but its been seriously frustrating to follow due to a complete lack of media coverage. It's just been forgotten about, but could actually be the best of the lot

If I were the UK, I'd be all over it. They've got their results now, get it to the MHRA and lets get it licensed. We've got a production facility in Stockton-on-Tees, get it running. We could be building a stockpile now (should have been doing so on the preliminary findings anyway). We could finish our own programme on the strength of Novavax and this small Moderna order yet. We might not need much more AstraZeneca or Pfizer yet if they can get this one up and running in a month

[–]helm 0 points1 point  (1 child)

The UK were late to strike a deal with Moderna. It looks like the EU made similar bets to other actors, the major difference being guaranteed rights to produced doses.

[–]FarawayFairways 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't characterise it as late necessarily in so much as Kate Bingham clearly expressed the view that she didn't trust the Americans not to embargo Moderna exports, something which has been largely born out. The UK didn't want to find themselves exposed to Moderna and therefore didn't place order until very, very late, and only after Moderna had reported

The UK's Moderna order is small, 7m, and something of an after thought. It was placed in November and is only due for delivery in April. Moderna was never part of the strategy. It's being regarded as a bit of a bonus rather than anything else.

It makes for an interesting contrast though, as the UK has shown more grace and dignity than the European Commission. The UK placed a late order and accepted that they have to take their place towards the back of the queue and wait as result. Seems fair doesn't it?

Compare this to the EU

"We reject the logic of first come, first served. That may work at the neighborhood butcher’s but not in contracts." - Stella Kyriakides, Health Commissioner, Jan 27th, 2021

The major difference between the two procurements strategies was speed.

The European Commission wrote their 'strategy' and presented it on June 17th, 2020. The UK had already placed three separate orders by then. The UK reached for their credit card, the EU reached for their typewriter

The idea that the major difference is about guaranteed rights is something the Commission wants you to believe because it helps deflect blame from them. The UK has the same terms and conditions of "best reasonable effort" in their contract that the EU does.

All of the manufacturers have made oblique references to experiencing issues when dealing with the EU. The Commission took so long to make a decision that they cut the lead time out from under the manufacturers and then began demanding delivery at yesterday speed.

[–]autotldrBOT 19 points20 points  (0 children)

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 73%. (I'm a bot)

3 Min Read.(Reuters) - Novavax Inc's COVID-19 vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday, moving it a step closer to regulatory approval.

The vaccine was also about 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the UK. It was about 90% effective overall, combining data from people infected with both versions of the coronavirus.

In a smaller trial conducted in South Africa - where volunteers were primarily exposed to another newer, more contagious variant widely circulating there and spreading around the world - the Novavax vaccine was only around 55% effective but still fully prevented severe illness and death.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: vaccine#1 trial#2 Novavax#3 data#4 variant#5

[–]OtsaNeSword 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That’s good enough for me. Australia has contracts for Novavax, Pfizer/BionTech, Oxford/Astra Zeneca and Johnson Johnson.

Hopefully I get the Novavax vaccine, I doubt I’ll get the Pfizer one since they’re only giving it to frontline workers, government and the elderly plus they only ordered small amounts, choosing to order a lot more of the Oxford vaccine.

I’m in phase 2b of Australia’s vaccine rollout plan. Mid to late this year; so I’ll be one of the last to receive it.

So I have plenty of time to wait for the Novavax vaccine to arrive and be approved for use.

I’d choose the Novavax over the Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine 10/10 times.

[–]hobokobo1028 16 points17 points  (5 children)

I made a great choice in backing NVAX stock last March. From $15/share to nearly $300/share

[–]ahm713 1 point2 points  (1 child)

How many shares did you acquire?

[–]hobokobo1028 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Initially 35 at $15. Sold 10 when it hit $150 the first time. Sold another 5 when it hit $275. I think I’ll hold for a bit and see what happens. I’m not some huge investor or anything but it’s nice to see 1700% returns lol

[–]SonnySaveCalvin -1 points0 points  (2 children)

Same here.... I got spooked when it took a dive over the last month or so. Any thoughts on when you plan on selling, or are you going to diamond hand this thing.

[–]hobokobo1028 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I’ve sold a handful. Enough to make a good profit. Anything at this point is pure profit.

It’s in my retirement account so I’m in no hurry to sell

[–]SonnySaveCalvin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good for you! Congrats!

[–]FarawayFairways 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is probably the bit that might get interesting yet

Novavax’s vaccine production plants should all be fully functional by April, executives said on a March investor call. The drugmaker expects to have tens of millions of doses stockpiled and ready to ship in the United States when it receives authorization, CEO Stanley Erck told Reuters.

Novavax plans to produce its two-shot vaccine at eight manufacturing locations, including the Serum Institute of India.

Worth remembering that the ever dynamic European Commission announced on December 17th 2020, that they'd completed their exploratory discussions with Novavax. They sounded very pleased with themselves too, but as yet, they still haven't managed to place an order.

It's possible therefore that some of the eight manufacturing sites might be in Europe (they certainly have facilities in Europe). A lot of the funding came from warp speed and Japan also made a sizeable investment. The UK helped rescue their stage 3 trial too when it was in serious danger of failing to subscribe in the autumn of 2020

Has the European Union missed the boat again?

Are we going to see another situation where vaccines are being manufactured in Europe and sent overseas, whilst the EU disingenuously claims to be exporting them? Let's see if the Italians are brave enough to register a block on this lot (even if the EU haven't even placed an order)

[–]immortality20 2 points3 points  (1 child)

It really is impressive how efficient a vaccine was developed so quickly. Makes you wonder if we had that kind of man power on other health issues how quickly we'd see results instead of patent after patent and actively holding the market.

[–]TallDarkSwitch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You realize that these are patented. Each one minus the one produced in Norway I think.

They are all IP.

[–]Noodle199 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I only contract the original coronavirus from 2020. This new shit just isn’t as cool.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Who named this company? I first read it as no va-vax vaccine (like a stuttering antivaxer)

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reverse the effectiveness and it will be nice.

[–]BioTrader101 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Best in Class Vaccine!!!