(Reuters) – COVID-19 vaccine maker Novavax said on Wednesday it will sell its production facilities in the Czech Republic to Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk for $200 million and use the proceeds to produce vaccines.
The company is struggling to keep up with rival vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer, which reported more than $3 billion in combined sales of their COVID-19 mRNA in the third quarter. It also cast doubt on its ability to stay in business in 2023.
The divestment of the Czech plant comes after US-based Novavax struck a 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 firm.
Shares of Novavax are up about 88% since the Sanofi deal in May.
“The decision to sell the production facilities in the Czech Republic is consistent with our previously announced commitment to transform Novavax into a more lean and agile organization focused on the partnership of our pipeline assets and technology platform,” CEO John Jacobs said in a statement.
The company expects the sale of the division to result in an annual reduction in operating expenses of approximately $80 million.
Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Abhinaya Vijayaraghavan)
