Novavax asks the US FDA for 6 months to produce Covid vaccines that fight the new strains

Novavax Inc It would take six months to produce a vaccine for the Covid-19 that matches the new strain for a program annual immunization each fall season in the U.S.

The company suggested that the US Food and Drug Administration select the prevalent variant of coronavirus in the first trimester, similar to the model followed to choose the composition of the annual influenza vaccination.

The FDA in Monday documents proposed June to decide on the composition of the injection.

Novavax’s protein-based vaccine requires manufacturing changes that take longer than mRNA vaccines from Pfizer Inc./BioNTech SE y moderna inc.

It took around 3 months for those companies to produce shots based on new variants this summer.

“We recognize the tension between selecting a strain as late as possible to increase the likelihood of recommending a matched strain versus providing adequate time to ensure vaccine availability,” Novavax chief medical officer Filip Dubovsky said during his presentation in front of regulator advisers.

The FDA is seeking recommendations from its external advisory panel on the adoption of an annual Covid vaccine in the country and the process for its selection of strains.