((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Updates)
May 10 – ** Shares of vaccine manufacturer Novavax
NVAX.O more than doubled to $10.43, hitting its highest level in a year
**The action is set for the best day ever
** The company entered into a licensing deal worth $1.20 billion with French drugmaker Sanofi SASY.PA for its COVID-19 vaccines in exchange for a stake that values the U.S. biotech company double its current market capitalization
**Sanofi will take a 4.9% stake in Novavax for $70 million
** NVAX removes alert notice from February last year which raised doubts about its activity
**Company says it will co-market its COVID-19 vaccine with Sanofi and develop new COVID-19-flu combination vaccines using NVAX’s Matrix-M adjuvant
**Sanofi will pay Novavax $500 million upfront and up to $700 million in development, regulatory and launch milestones
** NVAX’s first-quarter net loss narrows to $148 million, from $294 million a year earlier
**The company’s shares erase year-to-date losses, including gains of 115% year-to-date