NEWS & MEDIA

Novavax Statement on Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Announcement Regarding Procurement from Takeda of NVX-CoV2373 for Japan

May 7, 2021

Today in a press conference, the Government of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) provided an update on its ongoing efforts to secure coronavirus vaccine for the citizens of Japan. As part of these efforts, Takeda is in the process of establishing vaccine procurement based on technology transfer by Novavax of NVX‑CoV2373, a recombinant protein vaccine candidate, and will be responsible for manufacturing and commercialization in Japan. Takeda will have the capability to manufacture 250 million doses yearly of the vaccine at its manufacturing site in Japan. The MHLW is in contract discussions with Takeda for the Novavax vaccine with the premise that it will issue an order of 150 million doses. Distribution of Novavax’ vaccine in Japan by Takeda is expected to begin in late 2021 or early 2022 and will continue into 2022 onwards, considering the likely need to secure vaccines that also protect against COVID-19 variants in the future. 

To learn more, read about Novavax and Takeda’s license agreement for NVX‑CoV2373 in Japan here.