{"id":37358,"date":"2026-06-18T06:10:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/37358\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T06:10:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:10:39","slug":"novavax-bets-on-amplification-strategy-with-sanofi-pfizer-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/37358\/","title":{"rendered":"Novavax bets on \u2018amplification strategy\u2019 with Sanofi, Pfizer deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beginning in 2023, Novavax embarked on<\/a> an identity shift, moving away from the fully integrated business ambitions once fueled by a pandemic-era gold rush in vaccines toward a leaner structure built on an \u201camplification strategy.\u201d After shedding expensive commercial infrastructure and pivoting to a partnership model, the company is now positioning its Matrix-M vaccine adjuvant as a versatile, license-ready asset for other biopharma companies like Sanofi and Pfizer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best way to increase access to our technology platform is to put it in the hands of partners, right?\u201d Silvia Taylor, Novavax\u2019s chief corporate affairs officer and head of Sweden operations, said in a recent interview with Fierce on the sidelines of the World Vaccines Congress Washington 2026. \u201cIt\u2019s like an amplification strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Novavax once had grander plans. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a rare opportunity for the biotech to become a fully integrated commercial player like BioNTech and Moderna.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And Novavax eventually ended up achieving that goal\u2014in a sense.\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n

From commercial aspirer to R&D partner<\/p>\n

Following an emergency use authorization for its adjuvanted protein-based COVID-19 vaccine in mid-2022, the FDA fully approved<\/a> the shot, called Nuvaxovid, in May 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, being third in a shrinking market proved a tall task for the newcomer. The commercial infrastructure required was simply too expensive to be supported by the thinning financial returns of a competitive space\u2014especially one occupied by larger players.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, you\u2019ve got like six months to really prove yourself,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe needed a couple of years because we were behind […] when you are also commercial-stage and you\u2019re small, you\u2019re putting all your efforts in that basket. You can\u2019t afford to [\u2026] put them into the R&D basket.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, newly minted CEO John Jacobs initiated a restructuring of Novavax focused on reducing R&D and other expenses initially to channel resources to the COVID program. But moving into 2024, with the signing of Sanofi<\/a> as a collaborator for Nuvaxovid and future combo shots, Novavax officially transitioned to a partnership model.<\/p>\n

\u201cSanofi is a major global vaccine player. They have a very established flu franchise,\u201d Taylor recalled. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get to know retail. We\u2019re trying to get our vaccine placed. We\u2019re trying to get them to trust us [\u2026] They already have that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The realization prompted the shift to the partnership model so that Novavax \u201ccould do what we do best, which is focus on the science and the expertise that we have in the nanoparticle technology platform, as well as the adjuvant, [and] continue to generate new science.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strategy bore fruit at the beginning of 2026, when Pfizer paid<\/a> $30 million up front and committed up to $500 million in milestones to use Novavax\u2019s Matrix-M for two programs.\u00a0
\u00a0<\/p>\n

Licensing the future<\/p>\n

More pharma companies have signed material transfer agreements (MTAs) so that they can experiment with Matrix-M before committing to a formal licensing deal, according to Taylor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matrix-M is a saponin-based adjuvant that enhances vaccine immune responses. It doesn\u2019t contain aluminum, a popular vaccine adjuvant that has been targeted<\/a> by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his elaborate campaign against vaccines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Besides Nuvaxovid, the Matrix-M technology is also used in an affordable malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and Serum Institute of India. Between the two shots, Matrix-M has been used in tens of millions of people, Taylor noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new operating model has drastically reshaped<\/a> Novavax\u2019s balance sheet. In 2025, the cost of sales dropped to $73 million compared with $203 million in 2024; non-GAAP R&D expenses, taking into account reimbursement payments from Sanofi, decreased by 33% year over year; selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by 53% to $157 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Further slimdowns are expected as Novavax targets non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses of $325 million this year, $225 million in 2027 and $200 million in 2028.<\/p>\n

While the commercial team is gone, Novavax has kept a strategy team alongside its business development function to elucidate the market landscape. And an R&D team is still necessary to explore new possibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"Taylor\"\/<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Taylor<\/p>\n

Silvia Taylor, Novavax chief corporate affairs officer
and head of Sweden
\n (Novavax)<\/p>\n

Novavax and Pfizer had been engaged in discussions for some time. Novavax generated data showing the value of Matrix-M across multiple disease areas, which led Pfizer to conduct their research under an MTA, according to Novavax. The New York pharma ultimately decided to obtain a non-exclusive license to use the adjuvant in up to two disease areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The R&D team is tasked with experimenting with the adjuvant, understanding whether it would work with mRNA or in a new formulation approach, such as dry powders, and potentially making improvements to create next-generation technologies, Taylor noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the technology is showing promise beyond prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases. \u201cA couple of potential partners in the oncology space\u201d have expressed interest in applying Matrix-M to their work, Taylor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oncology could be a massive opportunity, but the Novavax exec noted that development on that front is at very early stages and that the company is still learning and identifying the areas where Matrix-M could be useful.
\u00a0<\/p>\n

Playing the long game<\/p>\n

A small unit of Novavax\u2019s R&D team is still developing new vaccines, but not for future commercialization for the Maryland company. These include a preclinical C. difficile candidate, which Novavax hopes could enter the clinic in 2027 and eventually be partnered up.<\/p>\n

As part of its pandemic-era ambitions, Novavax also developed a COVID-flu combination vaccine built on a flu program that had previously generated phase 3 data. Novavax has since paused development of the combo vaccine and is envisioning a potential partner would run their own phase 3.<\/p>\n

Large pharma companies have been keen on<\/a> the potential of a COVID-flu combo shot. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, Moderna<\/a>, GSK through a deal with CureVac<\/a>, and Sanofi are all working on such candidates.<\/p>\n

Rather than taking on Novavax\u2019s combo, Sanofi is combining the biotech\u2019s Nuvaxovid with its own flu shots and is looking to move into phase 3 trials. During the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January, the French pharma highlighted the combination vaccines as one of three growth drivers that could help replace Dupixent when the immunology megablockbuster loses patent protection in the early 2030s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sanofi is still investing in vaccines despite a rough policy environment in the U.S., having recently acquired<\/a> Dynavax Technologies for $2.2 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a public company, Novavax would be open to M&A offers, but Taylor suggests that now may not be the right time for a buyout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a company is going to transact, you want it to be at maximum value,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re not even near getting the maximum value.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Sanofi and Pfizer deals offer upfront and milestone payments, \u201cthe real money,\u201d Taylor said, comes in the form of royalties when the products reach the market.<\/p>\n

As vaccine development takes time, companies with vaccine portfolios have expressed their commitment<\/a> to the long run despite recent regulatory headwinds. And Matrix-M stands to benefit from this \u201cfertile hunting ground,\u201d so that\u2019s why Novavax is sticking to its partnership strategy for now, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree years is what this administration has left, and the need for vaccines endures,\u201d Taylor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, there is a lot of damage to the vaccine policy environment, the infrastructure, and that will take time to recover from,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cBut we are dependent on there be a need for vaccines, which there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: The story has been updated regarding Novavax’s account of how the Pfizer deal came about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beginning in 2023, Novavax embarked on an identity shift, moving away from the fully integrated business ambitions once…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37359,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12983],"tags":[26177,26175,18184,10971,1387,24205,26153,26178,24410,24556,26174,22749,13012,26176,15918],"class_list":["post-37358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sanofi","tag-adjuvant","tag-adjuvant-vaccines","tag-business-development","tag-covid-19","tag-deals","tag-fierce-biotech-homepage","tag-fierce-pharma-homepage","tag-flu-vaccine","tag-licensing-deals","tag-novavax","tag-pfizer","tag-pharma","tag-sanofi","tag-vaccine-development","tag-vaccines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}