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Investing.com -- Novavax (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:NVAX) stock plummeted 24% after comments from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested a shift in government priorities away from the company's vaccine technology.
The sharp decline came as Kennedy indicated during a CBS News interview that the U.S. government is moving its focus to vaccines that utilize multiple antigens, rather than the single antigen approach used by Novavax. "We're looking at that vaccine and it is a single vaccine. And, for respiratory illness, the single antigen vaccines have never worked," Kennedy stated. He further noted, "We’re actually shifting our priorities to multiple antigen vaccines."
This news follows Novavax's announcement last week that it is still awaiting a decision from the FDA regarding its Covid-19 vaccine approval application. Kennedy clarified that the delay in approval was not due to a lack of personnel but rather because of the type of vaccine Novavax produces.
The market's reaction to Kennedy's remarks was not isolated to Novavax, as shares of other vaccine makers also experienced declines. Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) saw an 8% drop, Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) fell 7%, Vaxcyte was down 4.5%, and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) decreased by 2.5%.
Investors are now grappling with the implications of this shift in government strategy for Novavax and its peers in the vaccine industry. As the landscape for Covid-19 vaccine development evolves, companies may need to adjust their approaches to align with new public health strategies and regulatory expectations.
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