(Reuters) – COVID-19 vaccine maker Novavax said on Wednesday it will sell its production facility in the Czech Republic to Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk for $200 million and use the proceeds for its vaccine pipeline.
The company has struggled to keep pace with rival vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer, which reported combined sales of more than $3 billion for their mRNA COVID-19 shots in the third quarter. It had also raised doubts about its ability to remain active in 2023.
The divestment of the Czech plant follows US-based Novavax’s licensing deal worth at least $1.2 billion with French drugmaker Sanofi for its COVID-19 vaccine, in exchange for the latter taking a nearly 5% stake in the company takes.
Novavax shares are up about 88% since the deal with Sanofi in May.
“The decision to sell the manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic is consistent with our previously announced commitment to develop Novavax into a more streamlined and agile organization focused on partnering with our pipeline assets and technology platform,” CEO John Jacobs said in a statement.
The company expects the sale of the unit to result in an annual reduction in operating expenses of approximately $80 million.
Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan)
