Novavax gets $11M, forges Indian joint venture

Shares of Novavax got a much-needed boost yesterday when it announced that a subsidiary of India's Cadila is taking an $11 million stake in the vaccine company and signing on to a new joint venture. Shares closed above $1.00 for the first time since late February. Rockville, MD-based Novavax had earlier announced that it needed fresh funds to avoid a restructuring to save money.

The joint venture--which will be 80 percent owned by Cadila--will pursue development of Novavax's seasonal influenza vax candidate and Cadila's therapeutic cancer vaccine candidates in India, according to a report in the Washington Business Journal. In the deal, Cadila's sub is buying 12.5 million shares of Novavax for 88 cents apiece,

"This alliance offers us the potential to accelerate the development of our product candidates, explore promising new vaccine candidates, and introduce these products to one of the world's fastest-growing medical markets," said Rahul Singhvi, president and CEO of Novavax.

In its annual report, Novavax reported a $36 million loss for last year. R&D costs were $24.3 million.

- see Novavax's release [1]
- check out the report [2] from the Washington Business Journal

Related Articles:
Novavax cuts staff, seeks partnerships [3]
Novavax VLP technology wins kudos [4]
Novavax bird flu vaccine shows promise in trial [5]