Novavax Expands Leadership with Several Key Management Promotions

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Nov. 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) today announced several management promotions.

“We are pleased to announce several key management promotions to further support the advancement of our company and its lead clinical programs into commercial stage," said Stanley Erck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Novavax, Inc. “These individuals have worked closely with our senior leadership team and have made significant contributions to ensure we drive our ResVax and NanoFlu programs towards licensure. We are extremely fortunate to have a seasoned in-house team that continues to deliver results.”

The following individuals have been promoted:

• Jody Lichaa to Senior Vice President, Quality Assurance
• Brian Rosen to Senior Vice President, Commercial Strategy
• Kathleen Callahan to Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CMC
• Susan Hensley to Vice President, Regulatory Operations
• Brian Webb to Vice President, Manufacturing

Ms. Lichaa joined Novavax in October 2011 as Director, Quality Assurance. She was named Executive Director, Quality Assurance in August 2013 and then named Vice President, Quality Assurance in October 2015. Her role has recently expanded to include quality assurance validation, clinical quality assurance, and quality assurance globally. Ms. Lichaa will continue to serve as the strategic leader and operational manager to direct, oversee, and manage all quality assurance activities. She has more than 20 years of experience in quality, primarily in vaccine development. Prior to joining Novavax, Ms. Lichaa was most recently the Senior Director, Quality for PharmAthene, where she managed global quality assurance and quality control activities. She previously held positions of increasing responsibility at Shire and Baxter. Ms. Lichaa received her Bachelor of Science degree in Toxicology from Northeastern University.

Mr. Rosen joined Novavax in 2015 as Vice President, Market Access and Policy and was named Vice President, Commercial Strategy in June 2018 with responsibility for leading commercial strategy efforts. He came to Novavax with more than 20 years of industry, legal and patient advocacy experience, the vast majority engaged in government affairs, advocacy, reimbursement and policy work. Prior to Novavax, Mr. Rosen was most recently the Chief Policy, Advocacy and Patient Access Officer for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and, prior to that, developed and ran the Government Affairs, Policy and Alliance Development functions for MedImmune. Mr. Rosen currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of MdBio Foundation. Mr. Rosen received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Psychology from Tufts University and his Juris Doctorate from Hofstra University School of Law.

Ms. Callahan joined Novavax in July 2011 as Director, Regulatory Affairs and was named Executive Director, Regulatory Affairs in April 2017. She has led the efforts to reach agreements with the U.S. and European regulatory agencies for CMC requirements for marketing applications and continues to prepare the CMC sections of our marketing applications. Ms. Callahan has more than 25 years of experience in vaccine development, with 16 years in Regulatory Affairs. She previously held positions of increasing responsibility at Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline, and PharmAthene. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Mount Saint Mary’s College and a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Science (Biotechnology/Molecular Biology) from Hood College.

Ms. Hensley joined Novavax in May 2014 as Director, Regulatory Operations and was named Executive Director, Regulatory Operations in April 2017. She has more than 24 years of experience in regulatory information and submissions management, policy enforcement, and team performance. Prior to joining Novavax, Ms. Hensley led the successful compilation and filing of two biologics license applications as the Head of Regulatory Operations at Human Genome Sciences. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree at University of Maryland Baltimore County and her Master of Science degree in Clinical Social Work from University of Maryland, Baltimore. She is currently working on a Master of Science Degree of Regulatory Science at Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Webb joined Novavax in May 2014 as Senior Director, Manufacturing and was named Executive Director, Manufacturing in December 2016. His role recently expanded to include Supply Chain with end-to-end accountability for clinical and commercial vaccine production. Prior to joining Novavax, Mr. Webb held numerous operational leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences where he had the opportunity to take multiple products from early clinical stage through licensure and launch. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Salisbury University and his Master of Science degree in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVAX) is a late-stage biotechnology company that drives improved health globally through the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. ResVax™, its RSV vaccine for infants via maternal immunization, is the only vaccine in a Phase 3 clinical program and is designed to prevent the second leading cause of death in children under one year of age worldwide. Novavax is also advancing NanoFlu™, its quadrivalent influenza nanoparticle vaccine, to address key factors that can lead to the poor effectiveness of currently approved flu vaccines. Novavax is a leading innovator of recombinant vaccines; its proprietary recombinant technology platform combines the power and speed of genetic engineering to efficiently produce a new class of highly immunogenic nanoparticles addressing urgent global health needs.

For more information, visit www.novavax.com and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein relating to the future of Novavax and the ongoing development of its vaccine and adjuvant products are forward-looking statements. Novavax cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Novavax Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2018 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read our filings with the SEC, available at sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of the statements. Our business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.

Contacts:      

Investors
Novavax, Inc.
Erika Trahan
[email protected]
240-268-2000

Westwicke Partners
John Woolford
[email protected] 
443-213-0506

Media
Sam Brown
Mike Beyer
[email protected]
312-961-2502