Novavax said, on Friday, that it has started work on a new version of the vaccine against Corona, to target the mutant "Omicron", which was discovered in South Africa, and that the doses will be ready for testing and manufacturing in the next few weeks.
The new dose contains a portion of the mutation's protein, which cannot cause disease, but can stimulate the immune system.
The company explained that it had started developing the vaccine based on a protein specific to the known genetic sequence of the "B.1.1.529" mutant, which the World Health Organization called, on Friday, Omicron.
"The initial work will take a few weeks," a company spokesperson said. The company's shares closed up about 9%, Friday.
The Novavax vaccine against Corona received the first approval for emergency use, earlier this November, in Indonesia and the Philippines.
The company added that it is on track to apply for approval by US health authorities to use the vaccine by the end of the year. It has also applied for approvals from the European Medicines Agency and health authorities in Canada.
Other companies that manufacture anti-coronavirus vaccines, such as Biontech and Johnson & Johnson, have said they are testing the efficacy of their vaccines against the new mutant, Omicron.
On the other hand, Inovio said that it had started testing its INO-4800 vaccine, to evaluate its effectiveness against the new mutant. The company expects the test to take about two weeks.
Inovio added that at the same time it plans to manufacture a new vaccine that specifically targets Omicron.
It is reported that earlier this November, the company resumed the last phase of its vaccine trial in the United States, after a 14-month hiatus.
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