Novavax to participate in University of Oxford Com-COV2 study comparing mixed COVID-19 vaccine combination.

Novavax, Inc. announced its participation in a newly expanded investigator-initiated Phase II clinical trial called Comparing COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule Combinations – Stage 2 (Com-COV2), to be conducted by the University of Oxford and supported by the UK Vaccines Taskforce. Novavax' recombinant protein vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, is one of four COVID-19 vaccines that will be studied to evaluate the potential for combined regimens that mix vaccines from different manufacturers to achieve immune protection against COVID-19. Com-COV2 will include 1050 adults 50 years of age or older who received their first vaccination during the prior 8-12 weeks. Volunteer study participants will receive one of four different vaccines as a second dose, 350 of whom will be administered NVX-CoV2373. The research will compare the immune system responses from those who receive a heterologous regimen to those who receive a homologous regimen. "The focus of these studies is to explore whether multiple COVID-19 vaccines can be used more flexibly, with different vaccines being used for the first and second doses," said Matthew Snape, Associate Professor in Paediatrics and Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, and Chief Investigator on the trial. "If we can show that these mixed schedules generate an immune response that is as good as the standard schedules, this could potentially allow more people to complete their COVID-19 immunization course more rapidly." Under the protocol, which is a designed as a non-inferiority study, participants will be followed for reactogenicity (safety) and immune responses. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will formally assess the safety and efficacy of any new vaccination regimen before it is made available to the public.