Novavax will spike higher

Like the vaccines from Moderna $Moderna (MRNA.US)$ and Pfizer-BioNTech $Pfizer (PFE.US)$ , $Novavax (NVAX.US)$ Novavax's focuses on the spike protein. And that is why the efficacy levels of these vaccines are so high. So, theoretically, if there are many mutations in the spike protein, the original COVID-19 vaccines won't be as effective.

Nonetheless, Novavax is confident that it will find a vaccine candidate for this new threat. The biotech is now testing its original vaccine, CoV2373, against the omicron variant to see what kind of protections vaccinated people might expect. The company says it will have lab data on that question in a matter of weeks.

Simultaneously, Novavax has initiated development of an omicron-specific construct of its spike protein antigen. First steps are underway, and the company says it will start manufacturing the antigen in January.

Because it's not an mRNA drug but a protein-based vaccine, many experts believe the Novavax vaccine is an ideal booster shot. In a recent article in Nature, the authors concluded that the protein vaccines have a superior safety profile to the mRNA vaccines.

Of course, most of Novavax's COVID-19 shots will be used to vaccinate people abroad. Nonetheless, the U.S. has already acquired 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate. So if there's a demand for boosters next year, Novavax investors should do really well.

Article excerpted from The Motley Fool.