Shares of Novavax Inc. NVAX, +13.92% shot up 9.8% in afternoon trading Thursday, after the biotechnology company said its COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid has been recommended by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for expanded conditional marketing authorization (CMA) in the European Union for people aged 12 through 17. “This recommendation brings us closer to offering adolescents in the EU the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine developed using an innovative approach to traditional technology,” said Novavax Chief Executive Stanley Erck. The CHMP recommendation was based on results from the Phase 3 trial in the U.S., in which Nuvaxovid demonstrated 80% clinical efficacy overall at a time when the Delta variant was the predominant SARS-CoV-2 strain. And preliminary safety data from the trial showed the vaccine was well tolerated. Novavax’s stock has tumbled 65.1% year to date, while the iShares Biotechnology ETF IBB, +4.20% has dropped 23.1% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.95% has slid 20.8%.
