(Novavax) Shares of Novavax Inc. rose more than 5% in premarket on Thursday after preliminary findings showed that its Covid-19 vaccine produced strong immune responses against the Omicron.
Novavax says the naturalization effects against the Omicron were still four times lower compared to the original strain of the virus, prompting a booster shot for higher effectiveness.
The biotech company says a third shot after six months following the first two doses is needed to give protection similar to those seen in earlier studies.
Novavax expects to start making vaccines targeting the Omicron in early January and initiate clinical trials in the first quarter.
The company’s president Gregory Glenn says he is encouraged by the boosted responses against the Covid-19 variants and expects the company to enter the GMP phase of manufacturing soon.
The study results happened after Novavax was authorized to ship doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the EU next month.
NVAX: NASDAQ is up +5.56% on premarket.
