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What: Shares of biopharmaceutical company Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) continued a two-day surge, leaping as much as 35% today after an 11% gain yesterday.

So what: Novavax, which specializes in using recombinant vaccines for scourges like seasonal influenza and the more worrisome H1N1 flu strain, announced that it had received a new contract from the U.S. government that provides $97 million over three years to fund Novavax's work on both seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines. The contract has an additional optional two years and $82 million that could bring the total value to $179 million.

Novavax also announced that it had signed an agreement to license its recombinant vaccine technology to LG Life Sciences to use in South Korea and other emerging markets. Novavax will get upfront and milestone payments from LGLS as well as "double-digit" royalty payments.

Now what: These announcements are great news for Novavax. Funding is a key piece of the puzzle for biopharma companies like Novavax, and both the government contract and the deal with LGLS will give the company money it needs to move forward and continue its development efforts.

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