Each and every day, the medical community (and the world) learn more about COVID-19. What began as a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China has turned into a global pandemic affecting over 200 countries and territories. As of July 7th, there are 1..6 million diagnosed cases worldwide, with 539,000 deaths attributed to the virus. In the United States alone, there are 2.99 million cases. But is a cure on the horizon? According to Medical XPress, biotechnology company Novavax received $1.6 billion from the U.S. government to develop a COVID-19 vaccine through Operation Warp Speed. As a result, they must provide the U.S. with 100 million vaccine doses. Currently, the timeline is unclear, but Novavax may be required to present these doses by the end of 2020.

Novavax Funding for COVID-19

So far, Novavax’s vaccine has shown promise in clinical trials. The biotech company grows synthesized pieces of COVID-19’s “spike protein,” the protein used by COVID-19 to infect the body. Intriguingly, Novavax utilizes insect cells for protein growth, as well as a compound called an adjuvant. Altogether, this assists the body in producing antibodies to fight the virus.

NVX-COV2373, the Stage 3 clinical trial for the vaccine, will take place shortly in 2020. Admittedly, Operation Warp Speed plays a role in this. The goal of the Operation is to bring to the public millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses by 2021.

Outside of Novavax, other companies receiving funding under Operation Warp Speed include AstraZeneca ($1.2 billion) and Regeneron ($450 million). The latter is about to start late-stage human trials for REGN-COV2 and may have up to 300,000 vaccine doses available by the end of summer. Regeneron’s treatment combines two antibodies to inhibit COVID-19’s ability to invade the body.