On Nov. 15, 2021, Novavax and SK bioscience announced submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) for Novavax’ COVID-19 vaccine to South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’ recombinant nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine with Matrix-Mﾙ adjuvant, is the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine to be submitted for BLA in Korea.

In collaboration with Novavax, SK bioscience initiated the rolling submission process for NVX-CoV2373 to the MFDS in April of this year. The completion of a BLA submission to the MFDS marks the final review stage for authorization of NVX-CoV2373 in Korea.

Novavax and SK bioscience have an existing manufacturing and licensing collaboration that is intended to provide broad and equitable access to NVX-CoV2373 both in Korea and globally through the COVAX Facility. SK bioscience finalized an advance purchase agreement with the Korean government to supply 40 million doses of NVX-CoV2373 to South Korea earlier this year.

Novavax recently announced authorization of its vaccine in Indonesia. The company also announced regulatory filings for its vaccine in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as well as the complete submission of all data and modules in the European Union to support the final regulatory review of its dossier by the European Medicines Agency. Novavax and the Serum Institute of India also announced filings in India and the Philippines in August. Novavax expects to submit the complete package to the U.S. FDA by the end of the year.

NVX-CoV2373 is being evaluated in two pivotal Phase 3 trials: a trial in the U.K. that demonstrated efficacy of 96.4% against the original virus strain, 86.3% against the Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant and 89.7% efficacy overall; and the PREVENT-19 trial in the U.S. and Mexico that demonstrated 100% protection against moderate and severe disease and 90.4% efficacy overall. It was generally well-tolerated and elicited a robust antibody response.