Efficacy and Safety of NVX-CoV2373 in Adults in the United States and Mexico (preprint)

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND Vaccination using severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein antigen has been effective in the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). NVX-CoV2373 is an adjuvanted, recombinant S protein nanoparticle vaccine that demonstrated clinical efficacy for prevention of Covid-19 in phase 2b/3 trials in the United Kingdom and South Africa. METHODS This phase 3, randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of NVX-CoV2373 in adults [≥]18 years of age in the United States and Mexico during the first quarter of 2021. Participants were randomized in a 21 ratio to receive two doses of NVX-CoV2373 or placebo 21 days apart. The primary end point was vaccine efficacy (VE) against reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction-confirmed Covid-19 in SARS-CoV-2-naive participants [≥]7 days after the second dose administration. RESULTS Of the 29,949 participants randomized between December 27, 2020, and February 18, 2021, 29,582 (median age 47 years, 12.6% [≥]65 years) received [≥]1 dose 19,714 received vaccine and 9868 placebo. In the per-protocol population, there were 77 Covid-19 cases; 14 among vaccine and 63 among placebo recipients (VE 90.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 82.9 to 94.6, P<0.001). All moderate-to-severe cases occurred in placebo recipients, yielding VE of 100% (95% CI 87.0 to 100). Most sequenced viral genomes (48/61, 78.7%) were variants of concern (VOC) or interest (VOI), mainly represented by variant alpha/B.1.1.7 (31/35, 88.6% VOC identified). VE against any VOC/VOI was 92.6% (95% CI 83.6 to 96.7). Reactogenicity was mostly mild-to-moderate and transient, but more frequent in NVX-CoV2373 recipients and after the second dose. Serious adverse events were rare and evenly distributed between treatments. CONCLUSIONS NVX-CoV2373 was well tolerated and demonstrated a high overall VE (>90%) for prevention of Covid-19, with most cases due to variant strains. (Funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health; PREVENT-19 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04611802.)