On Jun. 4, 2020, Novavax announced that the company had been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Defense for the manufacturing of NVX-CoV2373, Novavax COVID-19 vaccine candidate. NVX-CoV2373 consists of a stable, prefusion protein antigen made using its proprietary nanoparticle technology and includes Novavax proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant.

JPEO-CRBND-EB through funding provided by the Defense Health Program, has agreed to fund up to $60 million to support Novavax in its production of several components of the vaccine that will be manufactured in the U.S. The agreement includes a 2020 delivery of 10 million doses of NVX‑CoV2373 for DoD that could be used in Phase 2/3 clinical trials or under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) if approved by the U.S. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

As part of the contract, Novavax will work with a U.S.-based biologics contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) to manufacture the antigen component of NVX-CoV2373 for at least 10 million doses of vaccine. Novavax will also collaborate with U.S.-based CDMOs to scale up production and manufacture of the Matrix-M adjuvant component of the vaccine.