Novavax Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $57 million and a net loss of $53 million, while highlighting progress in its Sanofi partnership, expanding use of its Matrix-M adjuvant platform and continued cost reductions.
Revenue declined from $239 million a year earlier, primarily because the second quarter of 2025 included a $202 million benefit from a biologics license application approval milestone and a Takeda amendment, Chief Financial Officer Jim Kelly said. The latest quarter included $19 million in product sales, up 76% year over year, driven by demand for Matrix-M from Takeda and Serum Institute. Novavax also recorded $36 million in Sanofi-related revenue, largely from research-and-development reimbursements and amortization.
The company ended the quarter with $743 million in cash and accounts receivable. Kelly said Novavax reduced combined non-GAAP R and selling, general and administrative expenses by 36% year over year during the quarter.
Sanofi milestones and Nuvaxovid commercialization
Chief Executive Officer John Jacobs said Sanofi has confirmed its intention to be among the first companies to enter the COVID-19/influenza combination-vaccine market. Sanofi is in advanced discussions with regulators on the timing of a Phase III study for a program combining Nuvaxovid with Sanofi’s influenza vaccines, according to Novavax.
Initiation of that Phase III study in either the U.S. or European Union would trigger a $125 million milestone payment to Novavax. Separately, Novavax expects to earn a $75 million manufacturing technology-transfer milestone from Sanofi around mid-2027. Kelly said the anticipated payment would extend the company’s cash runway from 2028 into 2029.
Jacobs said the two potential milestones provide visibility to an additional $200 million in near-term payments, on top of more than $1 billion in upfront payments, milestones, royalties and cost savings that Novavax has already realized through its Sanofi relationship.
Sanofi is preparing a broader commercial campaign for Nuvaxovid in the U.S., including pharmacy activation and direct-to-consumer outreach, Chief Strategy Officer Elaine O’Hara said. The partner also plans to expand availability to markets including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada during the coming season.
Kelly described the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine market as primarily consumer- and retail-driven, saying more than 85% of vaccinations are administered through retail channels. He said Novavax expects Sanofi’s direct-to-consumer campaign and retail presence to support a multi-year effort to establish the protein-based vaccine option in the market.
Novavax said the vaccine Sanofi plans to distribute matches the strain selections of U.S. and other regulators, and Jacobs said the company remains on track to deliver doses to Sanofi.
Matrix-M partnerships broaden into oncology
Management emphasized expanding interest in Matrix-M, the company’s saponin-based adjuvant. Jacobs said four of the world’s 10 largest pharmaceutical companies now have licensing or material transfer agreements involving Matrix-M. Licensed partners and material transfer agreement holders collectively have rights to more than 30 areas of experimentation in infectious disease and oncology, according to the company.
O’Hara said Novavax executed a material transfer agreement during the second quarter with a leading global pharmaceutical company active in immuno-oncology for therapeutic cancer-vaccine applications. She said cancer-vaccine programs may generate meaningful clinical data and development milestones more quickly than infectious-disease vaccines because trials typically enroll patients with active disease.
Head of R Bob Walker said Novavax is increasingly focused on Matrix-M’s possible oncology applications. A study published by Novavax in npj Vaccines showed that Matrix-M supports antigen cross-presentation and downstream CD8 T-cell activation, he said. Walker also cited Stanford research published in Science Advances on saponin adjuvants used alone or with innate immune stimulators.
Novavax is conducting internal oncology research across multiple target types and expects partner work to add independent data sets. Jacobs said the company believes Matrix-M “as it stands today” may have potential in oncology, while Novavax is also evaluating other approaches that could expand its use across both oncology and infectious disease.
C. difficile program advances
Novavax said it initiated good manufacturing practice production and pre-investigational new drug interactions with the FDA for its multivalent C. difficile vaccine candidate. Walker said the company remains on track for potential clinical entry as early as 2027.
The candidate is intended to cover most circulating C. difficile clades and ribotypes, according to Walker. In response to analyst questions, he said Novavax is generally pursuing preventive vaccines and that Phase I plans are not being disclosed in detail, beyond describing the study as a standard dose-escalation effort focused on safety.
Walker also said preclinical models have shown evidence that the candidate could induce mucosal immunity, although the company will discuss the finding further if it is observed in human studies.
Updated 2026 outlook and cost targets
Novavax raised its 2026 adjusted total revenue framework to $235 million to $275 million, from a prior midpoint that was $5 million lower. The midpoint of $255 million reflects a $5 million increase in adjusted supply sales, a $10 million increase in other partner-related revenue, and a $10 million reduction in partner R reimbursements as Novavax completes obligations more efficiently.
The company expects most remaining 2026 revenue to arrive in the fourth quarter, driven by the COVID-19 vaccine season. Its adjusted revenue framework excludes Sanofi supply sales, royalties and milestones.
Novavax also reduced its midpoint guidance for combined 2026 GAAP R and SG expenses by $10 million to $390 million. It reiterated expected non-GAAP R and SG expenses, net of partner reimbursements, of $325 million at the midpoint.
Looking to 2028, the company continues to target combined non-GAAP R and SG expenses of $150 million to $200 million, non-GAAP profitability as early as 2028, and repayment of pandemic-era advance purchase agreement liabilities by the first quarter of 2029. Kelly said Novavax anticipates reducing headcount to less than half of its first-quarter 2026 level and is exploring a reduction of more than 50% in its operating footprint.
About Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX)
Novavax, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that specializes in the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. Founded in 1987, the company has built a platform based on recombinant nanoparticle technology and its proprietary Matrix-M™ adjuvant to enhance immune responses.
The company's lead product is NVX-CoV2373, a protein-based vaccine designed to elicit a robust immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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