SHIELD-Utah Study Shows Novavax's COVID-19 Vaccine Induces Lower Reactogenicity Symptoms Compared to mRNA

Core Insights - Novavax's non-mRNA JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine shows lower frequency and severity of short-term side effects compared to Pfizer-BioNTech's mRNA vaccine, with full results to be published later this year [1][3][4] Group 1: Study Findings - The SHIELD-Utah study indicates that Novavax recipients reported an average of 1.7 symptoms, while Pfizer-BioNTech recipients reported 2.8 symptoms [3] - 43.8% of Pfizer-BioNTech recipients experienced at least one symptom of Grade 2 or higher, compared to 24.2% of Novavax recipients [3] - Local reactogenicity events were 12.5% fewer in Novavax recipients compared to Pfizer-BioNTech recipients [3] - Novavax recipients experienced lower hours of reduced activity, with means of 0.7 hours missed work and 0.8 hours less productivity, compared to 1.4 hours and 2.4 hours for Pfizer-BioNTech recipients, respectively [3] Group 2: Company Strategy and Technology - Novavax focuses on leveraging its scientific expertise in vaccines and its technology platform, which includes protein-based nanoparticles and the Matrix-M adjuvant [5] - The company aims to build new partnerships through out-licensing its technology and vaccine assets, with a growing early-stage pipeline [5] - The SHIELD-Utah study adds to the body of research supporting the tolerability of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine [4]