Novavax boosts 2026 revenue forecast as licensing deals pay off

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Vaccine maker Novavax ( NVAX ) raised its annual revenue forecast above Wall Street expectations on Thursday, banking on payments ‌related to its licensing deals.

Shares of the company fell 9% ‌to about $9 during Thursday trading.

The company has relied on licensing deals and partnerships tied to ​its protein-based vaccine platform and its Matrix-M adjuvant — a compound that boosts the body's immune response to vaccines.

Novavax now expects 2026 adjusted revenue between $385 million and $415 million, higher than $235 million to $275 million previously and analysts' average estimate of $380.29 million, according ‌to data compiled by ⁠LSEG.

The loss-making company is betting on the licensing agreement with French drugmaker Sanofi, worth at least $1.2 billion, to reach profitability ⁠by 2028.

"We intend to bring new partners forward and it is core to our business model. So not only are we open to it, but we proactively ​try to ​facilitate and seek that," Novavax CEO ​John Jacobs said in an interview.

The ‌company is running experiments to assess the impact of adding its Matrix-M adjuvant to existing shots, having evaluated more than 30 commercialized vaccines globally, Jacobs told Reuters.

Sanofi plans a late-stage US trial of its influenza-COVID-19 combination vaccine, which uses Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid, in 2027. Novavax is eligible for a ‌milestone payment of $225 million upon US commercial launch.

The ​Democrats' sweep in the US midterm elections ​has lifted hopes of stability ​in vaccine policy after a period of uncertainty.

"I think it's ‌too early to tell in the ​immediacy what may exactly ​happen there ... I do think that could bode well over time for vaccine manufacturers," Jacobs said.

Novavax is also exploring vaccines for bacterial and ​fungal infections, as well ‌as cancer.

It posted a quarterly net loss of $31 million, compared with ​a net loss of $202 million a year ago.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy ​in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)