Japan Embraces Non-mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine

Maryland-based Novavax Inc. announced on September 10, 2021, its collaborator Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited has finalized an agreement with the government of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW) for the purchase of 150 million doses of Novavax’ recombinant nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373 (TAK-019).

The Takeda announcement on September 7th follows a recent update from MHLW on its ongoing efforts to secure the coronavirus vaccine for the 126 million citizens of Japan.

Takeda anticipates the capacity to manufacture more than 250 million doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine per year.

The distribution of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine in Japan by Takeda is expected to begin in early 2022.

“This agreement demonstrates confidence in an ongoing global demand for NVX-CoV2373 as a significant additional option to control the COVID-19 pandemic,” commented Stanley C. Erck, President, and CEO, Novavax, in a related press statement.

“Our important partnership with Takeda is an example of the global collaborations that will be required to stay ahead of the coronavirus and its variants.”

These efforts include vaccine procurement by Takeda based on technology transfer from Novavax, which is now complete, with Takeda in the final stage of demonstrating successful manufacturing implementation at its facility. 

Novavax and Tokyo-based Takeda previously announced a licensing agreement and collaboration on manufacturing, clinical development, and regulatory activities in Japan.

Novavax (NVAX) is a biotechnology company located in Gaithersburg, MD that promotes improved health globally through the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. Its vaccine candidates are genetically engineered using three-dimensional nanostructures of recombinant proteins critical to disease pathogenesis.