Novavax lifts annual revenue forecast as licensing bets offset weak vaccine demand

Sanofi SA

06/08/2026 13:00

    Aug 6 (Reuters) - Novavax  NVAX.O  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
 SASY.PA , 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  MRNA.O  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)
 ((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))