Yahoo Finance Novavax does not have a forecast for U.S. orders in 2022: CEO Erck
Novavax (NVAX) missed Wall Street expectations Monday after its second quarter earnings showed softer-than-expected demand in global vaccine sales, forcing the company to slash its 2022 outlook by 50% to $2 billion.
While at least $400 million in revenue has come in since July 1, the company has not fulfilled orders for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through the global COVAX program and anticipates no further orders from the U.S. this year, according to company executives Monday.
But that does not include anticipated authorizations for boosters and adolescents, CEO Stanley Erck told Yahoo Finance Live Tuesday.
"We're not forecasting something that we don't have. We're talking with the U.S. government, we don't have a forecast right now," he said.
Erck said that a booster market, the adolescent market — and stronger 2023 sales — are expected for the company going forward.
"What we need to do is get a couple indications for boosting and for adolescents, both of which we've applied for, and our expectations are that we'll get those approvals hopefully soon — but we're dependent on the FDA," he said.
However, global demand remains soft.
The problem with COVAX is it supplies LMICs, which are facing an oversupply of vaccines right now, Erck said.
"We've put off any projections of sales to COVAX this year. I don't know what's going to happen next year," he said.
"We're forecasting as conservatively as possible, and I think we're setting the stage for next year," Erck added.
The company had told federal officials that a BA.5 variant-targeting booster would be ready by the fourth quarter, but on Monday the company said that an October deadline was unlikely.
That isn't far off from competitors, however. As the Biden administration has called for a September booster campaign with the newly formulated vaccines, both Pfizer (PFE) and Moderna (MRNA) previously told the FDA they would be able to manufacture the new doses by October at the earliest.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said the company was working hard to meet the September deadline.
Erck remains optimistic about a fourth quarter deadline, and about the vaccine's original formula as a booster, which provides broad coverage including protection against the BA.5 variant.
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