COMMITTED TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE

We never rest in our quest to protect the health of people everywhere.

Novavax is here to make a difference. We're a biotech company focused solely on developing life-saving vaccines to fight infectious diseases.

Our commitment is backed by solid science tested by decades of research, vaccines developed from trusted technology and a global network that will help to ensure our vaccines reach everyone who needs them.

Novavax AB began in 1998, when Isconova was founded as a break-out from the Swedish Agricultural University. The company was founded to commercialise an invention made by Bror Morein's research group to formulate saponins into particles that can be used as adjuvants in vaccines.

By 2005 the company consisted of only 6 people when Magnus Savenhed, today Managing Director of Novavax AB, was hired to manage production. An agreement with a large veterinary vaccine company was signed for the licensing of Matrix-C for use in veterinary vaccines. From then, the company grew quickly. In 2006, the first veterinary vaccine containing Matrix-C was authorised, an Equine Flu vaccine that has now been in the European market for over 15 years.

In 2009, the first clinical study on a human vaccine containing Matrix-M was conducted in collaboration with Cricell (J&J). A collaboration was also initiated with Oxford University and later the Jenner Institute to develop a vaccine against Malaria. 

In pursuit of a better adjuvant technology to use with its protein vaccine candidates, Novavax, Inc. acquired Isconova in 2013 and became the company Novavax AB. The acquisition of Isconova and the rights to the Matrix-adjuvant complemented Novavax's innovative platform and laid the foundation for the creation of a world-leading protein-based vaccine platform.

In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the facility on Uppsala consisted of 50 employees, and all manufacturing of the adjuvant, Matrix-M, took place in the local factory. As Novavax began its massive efforts to produce a Covid-19 vaccine, a rapid increase in manufacturing capacity was needed, and manufacturing of Matrix-M was transferred to multiple manufacturing sites. 

Later in 2020, Novavax acquired a site in the Czech Republic for manufacturing antigen, and manufacturing of the adjuvant was expanded to multiple other sites in the EU and in the US. Parallel to the setup of adjuvant manufacturing at multiple contract manufacturers, manufacturing capacity was increased significantly at the Novavax site in Uppsala. Thus, the work conducted during the pandemic provided Novavax AB with a large manufacturing capacity using both in-house and contract manufacturing. The Covid-19 authorisations grated at the end of 2021 marked the first authorisation of a vaccine using Matrix-M and marked a significant milestone for Novavax AB. Since then, the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine also received approval in several countries in Africa.

In the more than 20 years since its creation and ten years since becoming Novavax AB, the company has become a leader in adjuvant technology with significant manufacturing capacity and expertise. This experience and record of innovation serve as a solid foundation, and we are excited about the potential to create new enhanced vaccines to protect public health today and in the future.