A US major vaccine manufacturer claimed that the efficacy rate of its Novavax vaccine, now manufactured by the Serum Institute in India (SII), has been 90.4 per cent.
Speaking in Pune on Wednesday, Dr Gregory Glenn, president, research and development, Novavax, said several variants emerged and circulated during the efficacy evaluation phase of the trial for Novavax on coronavirus that causes Covid.
“In fact, majority of cases seen were attributed to variants of concern or variants of interest. The study demonstrated overall efficacy of 90.4% against symptomatic disease against this mosaic of variants and achieved 91% efficacy in high-risk populations with medical comorbidities. All events of severe Covid and hospitalisations occurred in the placebo group,” Glenn said during his visit to SII Manjri unit as part of celebrations of 75 years of US-India bilateral relationship in health.
With the US Food and Drug Administration’s (USFDA) recent authorisation of Novavax’s Nuvaxovid vaccine, SII has become the first Indian manufacturer to access the US vaccine market. Approximately 3.5 million SII-made doses of the Novavax vaccine have already been sent to the United States, according to Serum officials.
Glenn said the US vaccine manufacturer’s data shows that its prototype, current strain vaccine induces broad recognition of new variants, especially with boosting. “This has profound future implications, as we strongly believe that the vaccine we have in our hands today will work against yesterday’s, today’s, and most importantly, tomorrow’s strains. As you know, the Wuhan was replaced by waves of alpha, beta, delta, omicron, its subvariants, BA.2, and now BA.5, which appears to have plateaued. So, the vaccine must be about the future…,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Glenn said the US vaccine manufacturer’s data shows that its prototype, current strain vaccine induces broad recognition of new variants, especially with boosting. “This has profound future implications, as we strongly believe that the vaccine we have in our hands today will work against yesterday’s, today’s, and most importantly, tomorrow’s strains. As you know, the Wuhan was replaced by waves of alpha, beta, delta, omicron, its subvariants, BA.2, and now BA.5, which appears to have plateaued. So, the vaccine must be about the future…,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Patricia Lacina, US Mission Charge d’Affaires, who was present during the event, said, “The long-standing relationship in health between the United States and India has had a profound impact on the lives of people across both countries and globally. The public-private economic partnership between both countries plays a key role in ensuring the health and prosperity of our people. I am delighted to be in Pune and visit SII, which has helped save lives around the world during the pandemic.”
According to Glenn, Novavax vaccine was shown in two large phase 3 trials to provide high levels of protection against mild, moderate, and severe Covid and both results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII, said, “The US and India have been close allies for the longest time. The strong cooperation between both the countries on global vaccination and pandemic relief has been inspiring. And to keep the growth curve upward and onwards, we will continue to play our role sincerely.”