Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Novavax, which filed for U.S. FDA approval for its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine Monday, has received conditional approval for the vaccine from UK regulators.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has granted marketing authorization for the vaccine in individuals 18 years of age and older in Great Britain.
An independent advisory panel will now consider its use as part of the UK’s COVID vaccination arsenal, according to Bloomberg News.
The UK is among countries where Novavax conducted clinical trials for its vaccine, with 15,000 participants, in addition to clinical trials in the U.S. and Mexico with 30,000 participants.
The two-dose Novavax vaccine has shown an overall efficacy of 90% in those trials.
To date, Novavax has received conditional approvals from the European Union and the World Health Organization. It has also received authorization in India, and its vaccine is already being distributed in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Last week, Israel’s Ministry of Health agreed to purchase up to 10 million doses of the Novavax vaccine, pending necessary authorizations.
Novavax began developing its COVID vaccine almost two years ago, after receiving $1.6 billion from the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine development program.
