Novavax Inc. is working toward a deal with a global health partnership to provide 1.1 billion doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

The Gaithersburg company said Thursday it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is working with other international players that include the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to provide equitable access to coronavirus vaccines. The initiative, called COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, is a component of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator created to help combat the pandemic.

And Novavax would provide its vaccine to the COVAX facility, which aims to make doses available to at-risk groups so long as it earns regulatory approval.

Novavax plans to work with the Serum Institute of India to manufacture and distribute those doses, after forming a strategic partnership with the institute in August 2020. Serum Institute also has an existing…