Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) just earned a critical approval to expand its Gaithersburg campus, paving the way for the homegrown biotech to exponentially grow its local footprint and stand up facilities to support research, development and manufacturing for years to come.
The Gaithersburg city council unanimously approved Novavax’s development plan on Monday, marking the end of the approval process and giving the company the green light to advance the project — which could extend up to 605,000 square feet.
“Novavax is pleased with this next step in our continued progress, and we appreciate the support from Mayor [Jud] Ashman and the City Council as we expand our important work in the Maryland biotech ecosystem,” Silvia Taylor, Novavax’s senior vice president of global corporate affairs and investor relations, said in an email Tuesday.
The project stands to swell the company’s Montgomery County footprint, which today comprises 79,000 square feet. It’s slated to include two seven-story buildings, a parking garage and green space in the center of the campus. The 180,000-square-foot facility would include laboratory, office and manufacturing space. It may also include up to 5,000 square feet of retail space.
The company is now assembling its project team, which includes KGD Architecture as the architect and VIKA Inc. as the civil engineer.
It comes as Novavax initiates its response to the Covid-19 Omicron variant. That includes examining how its existing vaccine protects against it — and, yes, getting regulatory approval in the U.S. before year’s end. It also involves developing a vaccine tailored specifically to the new variant.
Novavax’s share price was up more than 20% to a high of $171.56 after opening at $153.79 Tuesday, following an erratic week for biotech stocks.
Novavax uses what’s called recombinant nanoparticle technology in its vaccine, making it different from messenger RNA and viral-vector vaccines. It’s the same platform the company uses for its experimental seasonal flu and other vaccines, but it swaps in the genetic sequence for the coronavirus in place of the other antigens to fight Covid.
For its Covid vaccine candidate, Novavax has been on a seemingly incessant submission spree, getting its applications to agencies across the globe to authorize use of its Covid vaccine. Still, all eyes are on its long-awaited submission of its coronavirus vaccine to the Food and Drug Administration, which is expected to happen this month.
