Novavax shares plunge as company says FDA put hold on two shots [Video]

Novavax on Wednesday said the Food and Drug Administration has put a hold on its application for a combination shot targeting Covid and influenza and a stand-alone flu vaccine, sending the company’s shares down sharply. 

The biotech company’s stock fell nearly 20% on Wednesday. The so-called clinical hold is due to a single report of nerve damage in a patient who received the combination shot in a phase two trial that finished in July last year. 

A clinical hold is an order issued by the FDA to a manufacturer to delay or suspend a proposed clinical investigation on a drug.

It is unclear if the pause will impact Novavax’s ability to start and release data on phase three trials on those vaccines. Still, it appears to be a setback for the biotech company, which is scrambling to bring new products to market as demand for its Covid vaccine plummets worldwide.

Novavax said …