Novavax Grants License for Use of Matrix-M Adjuvant to Pfizer

Novavax NVAX announced a non-exclusive license agreement with Pfizer PFE, granting the latter access to its proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant technology for use in up to two disease areas. The collaboration highlights the growing recognition of Matrix-M’s versatility and its potential role in supporting the development of innovative vaccines and therapeutics.

Financial Highlights

Per the terms of the agreement, Novavax will receive an upfront payment of $30 million from Pfizer and is eligible to earn up to $500 million in potential development and commercial milestone payments.

In addition, Pfizer will pay Novavax tiered, high, mid-single-digit royalties on net sales of any of its products incorporating Matrix-M adjuvant.

Pfizer will take full responsibility for the development and commercialization of products using the adjuvant, while Novavax will supply Matrix-M.

Over the past year, NVAX’s shares have declined 7.1% against the industry’s 15.1% rise.

Expanding Role of Matrix-M in Global Vaccine Programs

Matrix-M is Novavax’s proprietary, saponin-based adjuvant technology designed to enhance and broaden immune responses to vaccines. It is currently utilized in a globally approved vaccine.

The Matrix-M adjuvant is a key component of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid/Covovax, and its pipeline candidates for influenza and an influenza /COVID-19 combination vaccine.

The University of Oxford used the Matrix-M adjuvant to develop the R21 vaccine for malaria, with commercialization rights licensed to the Serum Institute of India. Novavax claims that several other partners are also evaluating Matrix-M to develop their malaria vaccines.

Additionally, Novavax maintains a co-exclusive licensing agreement with Sanofi SNY that includes a non-exclusive license to use the Matrix-M adjuvant in vaccine products. In September 2025, the agreement was amended to expand Sanofi's license to include the use of Novavax's Matrix-M adjuvant in its pandemic influenza vaccine candidate program. In return, Novavax is entitled to receive up to $210 million from Sanofi, plus mid-single-digit royalties.

In 2023, the technology was also licensed to the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute and SK Bioscience for use in preclinical vaccine research and experiments, supporting broader global vaccine discovery efforts.

Novavax’s Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider

NVAX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A better-ranked stock in the biotech sector is MannKind MNKD, which currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for MannKind’s 2026 earnings per share have increased from 7 cents to 9 cents. MNKD shares have declined 11.1% over the past year.

MannKind’s earnings beat estimates in two quarters, missed in one and were in line in the remaining quarter, with the average surprise being 33.33%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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