ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVAX) today announced that it has entered a long-term lease arrangement for 74,000-square-feet of manufacturing, lab and office space in two facilities in Gaithersburg, MD. The main facility, located at 20 Firstfield Road in Gaithersburg, MD, will become the primary commercial-scale plant for production of the company's vaccines after minor modifications that are expected to be completed by mid-2012. The company's corporate headquarter offices will be relocated to the same campus at 22 Firstfield Road. Novavax operates a pilot-scale vaccine production facility at its current headquarters in Rockville, MD, four miles from the new facilities.
"This state-of-the-art facility ideally meets our process requirements and will provide twice the cGMP production capacity of our current facility," said Stanley C. Erck, President and CEO of Novavax. "We anticipate that it will enable us to supply our vaccines, most immediately our seasonal and pandemic VLP influenza vaccines, to meet our projected clinical- and commercial-supply requirements for the foreseeable future. In addition to cGMP facilities, these buildings will accommodate current and future clinical, R&D and administrative requirements. The company is assessing its long-term needs for the pilot-scale facility, however, I am delighted to report that the very favorable terms of this new lease would allow us to operate both this new facility and our pilot-scale facility at no additional expense over the next several years."
The high-quality laboratory, office, and manufacturing space is owned and operated by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. ("Alexandria"), Landlord of Choice to the Life Science Industry®. Robert Scheer, President of Scheer Partners, led Novavax through the site-selection process to the facility and represented the biopharmaceutical company in lease negotiations. "With Robert's hard work completed, we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Alexandria for many years to come," continued Mr. Erck.
About Novavax
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVAX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company creating novel vaccines to address a broad range of infectious diseases worldwide. Using innovative virus-like particle (VLP) and recombinant nanoparticle technology, as well as new and efficient manufacturing approaches, the company produces potent vaccine candidates to combat diseases, with the goal of allowing countries to better prepare for and more effectively respond to rapidly spreading infections. Novavax is committed to using its technology platforms to create geographic-specific vaccine solutions and is therefore involved in several international partnerships, including collaborations with Cadila Pharmaceuticals of India and LG Life Sciences of Korea. Together, these companies have worldwide commercialization capacity and the global reach to create real and lasting change in the biopharmaceutical field. Additional information about Novavax is available on the company's website: www.novavax.com.
About Scheer Partners
Founded in 1991, Scheer Partners is a full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Rockville, MD. While the firm works with clients across all industry types, Scheer Partners is the recognized leader serving the health-care market, with more than 500 successful projects in this sector. Scheer Partners is the operations manager for Montgomery County's technology incubator program and is co-manager of the Greater Washington Life Sciences Fund.
About Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. is the largest REIT focused principally on providing high-quality real estate for the life science industry. Since 1994, Alexandria has created first-in-class life science clusters that foster innovative and collaborative environments in key locations immediately proximate to leading research institutions. Alexandria's broad and diverse tenant base includes internationally renowned academic and medical institutions, multinational pharmaceutical companies, leading private and public biotechnology entities, non-profit institutions, government agencies, medical device companies, biofuels companies, research tools and service companies, and venture capitalists. Located in the top life science markets around the globe, Alexandria's world-class properties, highly specialized operations, and expansive network assist the life science industry in translating promising discoveries into important, safe, and effective products that benefit humankind.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements herein relating to the future of Novavax and its ongoing development of its vaccine products are forward-looking statements. Novavax cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Novavax Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read our filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of the statements. Our business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.