Shah Capital is pressing biotech firm Novavax’s board to explore strategic options, including a full sale, and warns it may launch a proxy fight if changes aren’t made within four months, according to a report by Reuters. The investor has recently increased its share in Novavax to 8.3%, up from 7.2% in October.
In letters to Novavax’s board, Shah said it was “increasingly disenchanted” with the company’s poor performance and limited market share — the firm’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine only sold around 120,000 doses in the 2025-26 season compared with 14.5m by two competitors, which translates to a roughly 0.8% share.
Shah, while affirming it still believes in the underlying science, points to a high cost base, a push-out of the profitability target to 2028, and what it sees as a disconnect between potential and execution.
The firm is urging Novavax to immediately form a sale-evaluation committee, appoint an investment bank and engage with potential suitors, with names such as Sanofi, Merck, GSK and AstraZeneca floated, though no formal discussions have been confirmed.
