Aug 6 (Reuters) – Novavax raised its annual revenue forecast after beating quarterly expectations on Thursday, as the vaccine maker’s licensing-driven milestone payments helped offset waning demand.
The Maryland-based company has been moving away from direct vaccine commercialization to focus on licensing its protein-based vaccine technology and Matrix-M vaccine adjuvant, alongside a broad cost-cutting effort to restore growth and profitability.
Novavax now expects 2026 adjusted revenue of between $235 million and $275 million, up from its previous expectation of $230 million to $270 million, excluding royalties and sales from the Sanofi deal.
The company is targeting profitability by 2028, mostly relying on a licensing agreement with French drugmaker Sanofi, which acquired rights to commercialize Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine and use its Matrix-M adjuvant – a compound that boosts the body’s immune response to vaccines.
Novavax said Sanofi is in advanced discussions with regulators over the timing of a late-stage trial for its COVID-19-influenza combination shot.
The start of that trial in the United States or European Union would trigger a $125 million milestone payment to Novavax, the company said.
Earlier this year, the European Commission approved Moderna’s COVID-flu combination shot in adults 50 years of age and older.
Novavax also said completion of a manufacturing technology transfer to Sanofi for its COVID vaccine Nuvaxovid is expected in mid-2027, which would generate a $75 million milestone payment.
It reported revenue of $57 million, in the quarter ended June 30, down 76% from a year earlier, but still ahead of the $52.51 million analysts had expected, according to LSEG data.
The company posted a net loss of $53 million for the quarter, compared with net income of $107 million a year earlier.
Novavax also said multiple partner-led studies evaluating Matrix-M in infectious diseases and oncology are underway and that its Clostridioides difficile vaccine candidate remains on track to enter clinical testing as early as 2027.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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