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Novavax says COVID-19 vaccine candidate in clinical trials

Visitors wear face masks as they tour the Whitney Museum of American Art as it reopens on September 3. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

May 26 (UPI) -- U.S. biotechnology company Novavax says it has entered clinical trials for a potential coronavirus vaccine, with first results expected within weeks.

The "NVX‑CoV2373" vaccine candidate has begun a combined Phase I/II preliminary immunogenicity and safety trial, Novavax announced Monday.

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Results from the trial are expected in July, Novavax President and CEO Stanley Erck said.

"Administering our vaccine in the first participants of this clinical trial is a significant achievement, bringing us one step closer toward addressing the fundamental need for a vaccine in the fight against the global COVID‑19 pandemic," he said in a statement. "We look forward to sharing the clinical results in July and, if promising, quickly initiating the Phase 2 portion of the trial."

Novavax said NVX‑CoV2373 demonstrated "high immunogenicity and high levels of neutralizing antibodies" during pre-clinical tests and showed "strong evidence" it will be effective in fighting COVID‑19 in humans.

Novavax's vaccine candidate joins a list of several others that are in clinical trials.

U.S. biotech firm Moderna announced last week positive stage-one results for its candidate and AstraZeneca said British researchers at the University of Oxford have begun enrolling subjects in its advanced-stage trial for its candidate.

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