Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a global company advancing protein-based vaccines with its Matrix-M™ adjuvant, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a clinical hold on Novavax’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its COVID-19-Influenza Combination (CIC) and stand-alone influenza vaccine candidates. The clinical hold is due to a spontaneous report of a serious adverse event (SAE) of motor neuropathy in a single CIC Phase 2 trial participant outside of the U.S. who received the vaccine in January 2023. The trial completed in July 2023 and the participant reported the SAE in September 2024.
“We are working closely with the FDA to provide the necessary information that will allow them to better understand this observation and resolve the clinical hold,” said Robert Walker, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Novavax. “It is important to note that safety is our top priority, and while we do not believe causality has been established for this serious adverse event, we are committed to working expeditiously to fulfill requests for more information from the FDA. Our goal is to successfully resolve this matter and to start our Phase 3 trial as soon as possible.”
Data from Novavax’s previous COVID-19 and influenza trials have shown no signals for motor neuropathy. Investigators have been informed of this action. The COVID-19 IND for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine is not impacted by the clinical hold.