Novavax Inc on Monday it had reached an agreement in principle with the Canadian government to supply up to 76 million doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccine, sending the company's shares up nearly 7%.
The deal is the latest example of countries rushing to secure access to vaccines, and comes weeks after Canada signed separate deals with Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc.
Novavax said it expects to finalize an advance purchase agreement to supply doses of the vaccine, beginning as early as the second quarter of next year.
The agreement is subject to the vaccine getting a license from Health Canada, the company said.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Novavax's vaccine was shown to produce antibodies against the novel coronavirus, according to initial data from a small, early-stage trial earlier this month.
The company has begun enrolling volunteers for the second phase of an ongoing clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with interim data expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) ((Manas.Mishra@thomsonreuters.com; www.twitter.com/Manasmishra24; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 806749 2709))
