May 20 Reuters Hedge fund Shah Capital said on Monday it would withdraw its campaign against the reelection of three directors on Novavax39;s board, after the COVID19 vaccine maker struck a licensing deal with Sanofi.

Under a deal signed on May 10, the French drugmaker will take a 4.9 stake in Novavax for 70 million at a lofty valuation.

It includes an upfront cash payment of 500 million and future payments contingent on certain milestones as well as royalties.

Novavax, which struggled to get its proteinbased vaccine to the market in a timely manner, also removed a warning notice from February last year that raised doubts about it being in business after the deal.

Shah Capital had also opposed proposals related to executive compensation.

The fund, which owns an about 7.8 stake in Novavax, reiterated that the Sanofi agreement was a longawaited step in the right direction.

Novavax said that it was fully focused on driving longterm value for all of its shareholders.

We appreciate that Shah Capital is ending its campaign, which is the right decision for shareholders and the company, it said in a statement.

Still, Shah Capital said on Monday it continued to believe Novavax would benefit from the addition of a stockholder representative on its board.

We will continue to closely monitor the company … as we believe significant additional value remains to be unlocked at Novavax, it said.

Shares of the Marylandbased biotech rose about 1 to 13.1 in premarket trading…