Novavax CEO Stanley Erck joins Yahoo Finance’s Anjalee Khemlani and Akiko Fujita to discuss the efficacy of the company’s COVID vaccine against the Omicron variant, global production and distribution of vaccines, and the pathway for FDA authorization.

Video Transcript

AKIKO FUJITA: Well, Europe has officially authorized Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine making it the fifth vaccine available in the EU. This comes as the omicron variant takes hold around the world. Here in the US, the CDC reporting that the new variant now accounts for a majority of new infections.

Let's bring in the CEO of Novavax. We've got Stanley Erck joining us today alongside Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani. And Stanley, it's great to talk to you today, especially at a time when I think of [INAUDIBLE] have so many questions around this particular variant, specifically on Novavax's vaccine. How much data do you have about its ability to protect against this variant?

STANLEY ERCK: Well, we have quite a bit of data about our ability to protect against variants in general. We had-- the timing of our efficacy trials in the UK and the US were such that we tested the efficacy against the vaccine when the alpha and the beta variants were first exploding in those trials. And we had very good efficacy against those variants.

We've now shown that and with the Delta variant that has been the predominant strain that we have very-- we generate very strong, broadly neutralizing antibody response against Delta. And our expectation is that we'll be able to demonstrate that for omicron as well.

In fact, we'll have data on that within the next few days. And that will guide us in the direction of how we go forward with our current vaccine. And, in fact, we are making an omicron variant strain vaccine. And we'll compare that against what is the current strain and vaccine and determined with World Health organizations whether we should switch strains or stick with what we've got. Those data will tell us it.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Stan, Anjalee here. I know that you've hit a couple of milestones since we last had you on, including first shots delivered in Indonesia after getting that emergency use approval there. You've also gotten emergency's approval from the World Health Organization in addition to now Europe.

And looking at how the output is flowing, I know there was $20 million doses sent to Indonesia from the Serum Institute partnership. Talk to me a little bit more about that partnership right now. I know that SI is still supplying COVAX with AstraZeneca doses, promising 40 million by the end of the year. Will you be able to match or surpass that through that partnership?

STANLEY ERCK: Well, we will. That's why we partnered with Serum Institute. They're the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world making roughly a 1 and 1/2 billion doses a year prior to the COVID days. And so we partnered with them. And we also have set up manufacturing facilities and with partners in Korea and Japan and, of course, the one that we own in the Czech Republic.

So we're at the capacity or the capability of producing-- our expectation is, is that we can produce a couple billion doses of vaccine this year. And in addition to shipping the doses to Indonesia, we're prepared to ship from our inventory now, doses to Europe starting next month. And those will be expanding globally over the next quarter.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Looking at where you stand right now in the US, we saw the CDC recently release some guidance about preference for mRNA vaccines over concerns of blood clots from the technology used in AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson doses. That certainly opens up opportunity for you in the global market. But you've really fallen behind in the regulatory process here with the FDA asking for more information. Can you update us on sort of where those talks are and whether or not you still see an opportunity here?

STANLEY ERCK: Sure. And we've made substantive progress in the US. We'll be filing within the next few days in the US. And so with that, it'll be the same basic package that we've filed globally. And as you can see, we've started to get global approvals with the WHO and with Europe. And we expect other approvals in the coming days. And our hope is, is that the US will look at this as an important new vaccine and approve it in due time.

AKIKO FUJITA: And while we're talking about the omicron variant here, certainly, there are a lot of countries that have not received the initial two doses of the vaccine. You mentioned on the most recent earnings call that your outlook here is for $2 billion doses to be delivered in 2022. What is that timeline look like right now? How quickly can you get those doses out?

STANLEY ERCK: Well, fairly quickly. I mean, as I say, we're starting to ship next month-- just post-- well, we've started to ship through our partnership in Indonesia at last month. And so we'll expand that to Europe and places like Australia and Canada where we filed and hopefully in the US, the first half of this year. So we're at a level of production that is approaching the $2 billion annual market mark. And-- and we'll have plenty of product for global distribution.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Certainly with these milestones-- Stan, I know that's-- obviously, you're starting to really get moving on that. So I wonder this really hasn't seemed to impact the stock as much. Do you anticipate any specific milestone that will turn that around?

STANLEY ERCK: No, I think it's a combination of things. And we can't-- I've taught my folks not to look at it on a day to day basis. As we take care of our business, it'll find its way.

I think the milestones, we've got-- we've started to get-- we've got momentum with the WHO and European approvals. We'll have two or three more I think before the end of this year. And with the FDA, we're hoping that we get approvals in the first quarter of next year.

And I think just generally, revving up the production distribution pathway and getting product out the door is what's really important. I think data on the omicron will be positive. And that should give people comfort that the vaccine has broadly neutralizing-- stimulates broadly neutralizing antibody responses that are protective. And I think that'll just help give people confidence that our protein-based vaccine is one of the best in class vaccines.

AKIKO FUJITA: Well, Stan, we appreciate you taking the time today. Stanley Erck, Novavax CEO joining us alongside Anjalee Khemlani.