Novavax, the Gaithersburg-based vaccine development company, announced it will cut about 25% of its global workforce.
According to the release Tuesday announcing the company’s first quarter financial results and operational highlights, “Novavax is focused on significantly reducing our expenses while retaining the key capabilities needed to execute our operating plans.” The company announced a “restructuring and cost reduction plan,” which includes the workforce reduction and consolidating facilities and infrastructure.
In a statement to MyMCM, Novavax wrote, “The planned global workforce reduction includes an approximately 25% reduction in the Company’s global workforce, comprised of an approximately 20% reduction in full-time Novavax employees. Approximate number of Novavax employees is 2,000.”
Novavax President and CEO John Jacobs stated in Tuesday’s release, “Reducing our workforce has been a difficult decision, but we believe it was necessary to better align our infrastructure and scale to the endemic COVID opportunity. Though we still have substantial challenges ahead of us in 2023, we are encouraged by the progress we have made in the last quarter and are determined to continue executing on our top priorities.”
Novavax’s top priority is delivering an updated COVID-19 vaccine for the fall vaccination season, per the release. The company debuted its COVID-19 vaccine in July 2022.
The company has made significant progress toward delivering the updated vaccine, Jacobs stated, and believes data announced Tuesday “supports the further development of our combination COVID-influenza, standalone influenza, and high-dose COVID vaccines.”
