GSK to Support Manufacture of Novavax' COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

Novavax, GSK, and the UK Government Vaccines Taskforce announced on March 29, 2021 that they have reached an agreement in principle to support manufacturing of up to 60 million doses of Novavax' COVID-19 vaccine candidate (NVX-CoV2373) for use in the United Kingdom, purchased in advance by the UK government. GSK will provide fill/finish manufacturing capacity at its Barnard Castle facility in the northeast of England beginning as early as May 2021, and technology transfer will begin immediately. The specialized facility currently supports production of GSK pharmaceutical and vaccine products. According to the press release, GSK and Novavax will negotiate a final agreement to include additional terms and conditions.

The protein antigen component of NVX-CoV2373 is also produced in the northeast of England by Novavax' manufacturing partner, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, at their site in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees.

"GSK is delighted to support Novavax and the UK Vaccines Taskforce with this manufacturing arrangement for the UK, and our Barnard Castle facility is now undertaking the rapid preparation work required to manufacture up to 60 million doses of this vaccine,” said Roger Connor, president, GSK vaccines, in the press release. “We have ensured that we can deliver these volumes without impacting supply of our other vital medicines and vaccines, and without disruption to the other COVID-19 collaborations GSK is engaged in globally."

"This partnership with GSK continues the expansion of our global supply network, which we expect to increase overall production capacity and, if approved by regulatory agencies, support access to a potentially important new vaccine against COVID-19," said Rick Crowley, executive vice-president and chief operations officer, Novavax, in the press release.

Source: Novavax