Novavax CEO John Jacobs took the stage on day three of the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference outlining what he described as the company’s second chapter, one defined less by pandemic-era volatility and more by disciplined execution, capital efficiency, and the monetization of a differentiated vaccine technology platform.

During his presentation, Jacobs framed 2026 as a year of transition rather than resetting, positioning Novavax as a reshaped organization. This follows the company’s multi-year effort to stabilize its balance sheet, dramatically reduce costs, and pivot away from a single-product commercial model toward a partnership-driven strategy built around its Matrix-M adjuvant platform.

With that restructuring largely complete, Jacobs notes that Novavax is entering 2025 launching a new growth strategy centered on partnering and R&D innovation, with a goal of achieving non-GAAP profitability as early as 2028.

Instead of internally funded late-stage development and commercialization efforts, the company is now anticipating a lean operating model supported by multiple pharmaceutical partners, diversified royalty streams, and milestone-driven cash inflows.

At the center of that strategy is Novavax’s saponin-based adjuvant Matrix-M, which Jacobs describes as a broadly applicable technology capable of enhancing immune responses across multiple vaccine platforms while also holding the ability to lower antigen requirements and manufacturing costs.

Jacobs argues that the platform has increasingly become the focus of external interest while attention continues to shift away from Covid seasonality and instead towards longer-term vaccine and immunotherapy opportunities.

Novavax’s existing partnerships form the foundation of its near- and mid-term value creation, with the company’s collaboration with Sanofi remaining the most financially significant, having already generated upwards of $800 million in non-dilutive capital over the past 18 months.

Under the partnership agreement, Novavax is eligible for royalties for up to 20 years on sales of its Covid vaccine commercialized by Sanofi in major global markets, including sales in both the U.S. and Europe. Jacobs also confirmed that Novavax expects to receive a $75 million milestone in 2026 tied to completion of technology transfer, concluding the Covid-specific milestone component of the deal.

Beyond Covid, Jacobs highlighted the upside embedded in Sanofi’s pipeline decisions, including two combination vaccine programs incorporating Novavax’s Covid antigen that have already produced positive Phase I and Phase II data sets, with future Phase III initiations triggering a $125 million milestone per program and potential launch milestones of $225 million, alongside long-term royalties.

Additional partnerships with Takeda and the Serum Institute of India further diversify Novavax’s revenue base with Takeda delivering over 12% market share for Novavax’s Covid vaccine in Japan in 2025.

The Serum Institute continues to commercialize the R21 malaria vaccine across Africa. Jacobs described R21 as a defining global health legacy, noting that more than 25 million children received the vaccine in the past year, generating an extensive safety database and reinforcing confidence in Novavax’s underlying technology, despite R21 not being a material revenue contributor.

During the presentation, Jacobs emphasized the growing pipeline of material transfer agreements (MTAs) signed with pharmaceutical companies evaluating Matrix-M within their own R&D portfolios.

According to Jacobs, over the past year two top-10 pharma companies along with a large pharmaceutical partner have begun internal testing of the adjuvant, in addition to undisclosed oncology-focused collaborations. Management’s intent, he said, is to convert a portion of these exploratory relationships into formal partnerships over time.

Internally, Novavax is pursuing a limited number of early-stage programs, including C. difficile, shingles, and an RSV combination designed to generate proof-of-concept data instead of advancing towards commercialization. Jacobs notes that the company spent less than $10 million on these programs in 2025, with potential clinical entry as early as 2027, positioning them as additional partnering assets rather than capital-intensive pipeline commitments.

Jacobs also mentioned that Novavax’s priorities heading into the year remains financial discipline, with Novavax guiding combined R&D and SG&A expenses of approximately $250 million in 2027, down from roughly $450 million in 2025. With cash and receivables approaching $920 million entering 2026, Jacobs reiterated confidence in Novavax’s runway into 2028 without reliance on equity financing.

“This company is no longer about one product or one season,” Jacobs said. “It’s about building a sustainable engine for value creation built on technology, discipline, and long-term partnerships.”

Sources

1. Novavax Corporate Presentation 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Novavax Inc January 14, 2026 https://jpmorgan.metameetings.net/events/healthcare26/sessions/317427-novavax-inc/webcast?gpu_only=true&kiosk=true