Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) has tapped AstraZeneca and Pfizer alum Åsa Manelius to oversee operations at the Swedish lab where it manufactures a key vaccine ingredient that's expected to help drive the Gaithersburg company's growth.
The company said this week it has named Manelius as its new managing director of the Novavax AB site in Uppsala, Sweden — where it makes Matrix-M, the adjuvant for its Covid-19 vaccine and other candidates it’s developing. She will assume the post in Feburary.
Manelius succeeds Magnus Savenhed, a nearly 20-year Novavax executive who held that position since 2018. He became CEO of Swedish biotech TdB Labs AB in September.
With more than 25 years in the industry, Manelius “brings deep global operations knowledge to Novavax during a critical time of transition for the company,” Novavax Chief Operations Officer Rick Crowley said in a statement.
Novavax — which is shifting its focus toward research and development and licensing deals — sees the AB site as “critical to ensuring robust supply of our best-in-class Matrix-M adjuvant for both our pipeline and potential partners,” Crowley said. The facility is the only manufacturing site for Matrix-M, according to Novavax.
Manelius most recently led global supply chain and strategy for AstraZeneca PLC’s respiratory and immunology therapy area and, before that, was general manager of the pharmaceutical giant’s biologics and biomanufacturing center in Södertälje, Sweden.
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