Novavax Announces Senior Management Appointments

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) announced today the appointments of Louis Fries III, M.D., as Vice President, Clinical and Medical Affairs, and Jane Halpern, Ph.D., as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.  Before joining Novavax, Dr. Fries was Director, Global Clinical Development at GSK Biologicals, North America and Dr. Halpern was Staff Scientist and Regulatory Affairs Specialist at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institutes of Health.

"We are excited to welcome these two highly talented senior executives to our company," said Gregory Glenn, M.D., Novavax's Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer.  "Each brings extensive experience in the development, clinical testing and registration of influenza and novel vaccines and more than two decades of industry and government experience.  Their appointments are timely as we turn our attention to late-stage clinical development and commercialization of our virus-like-particle vaccines to prevent the spread of seasonal and pandemic influenza."

Stanley Erck, President and CEO of Novavax, added:  "These appointments reflect our commitment to strengthening the Novavax management team as we work to advance and commercialize our VLP technology worldwide.  Lou and Jane possess the requisite managerial, medical and scientific skills to guide our vaccine development programs at a critical stage in our company's history.  We welcome their contributions to our future success."

Previously, Dr. Fries was Vice President, Clinical and Medical Affairs, at ID Biomedical Corp. (acquired by GSK in 2005) and Senior Director, Clinical Research at NABI.  He is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases and received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine.  

Dr. Halpern has served as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, at Genocea Biosciences, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Head, Technical Regulatory Affairs, North America at GSK Biologicals, and Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs at ID Biomedical, and held a variety of regulatory affairs and staff positions with the NIAID and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  She received her doctor of philosophy degree in pharmacology from the University of Rochester.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, employs its cutting-edge technology to create next-generation vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases, such as pandemic and seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The company's proprietary VLP technology and single-use bioprocessing system enables rapid vaccine development and production where and when it's needed, worldwide. The company has formed a joint venture with Cadila Pharmaceuticals, named CPL Biologicals, to develop and manufacture vaccines, biological therapeutics and diagnostics in India. Additional information about Novavax is available on the company's website: www.novavax.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements herein relating to the future of Novavax and its ongoing development of its VLP 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.

SOURCE Novavax, Inc.