(Reuters) – U.S. immunotherapy company Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO.O) said on Wednesday its experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus infection produced protective antibodies and immune system responses in mice and guinea pigs.
FILE PHOTO: Small bottles labeled with a “Vaccine COVID-19” sticker and a medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken taken April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The company’s shares, which have more than quadrupled this year on hopes of its vaccine working, surged another 18% to $15.77 early trading.
“We saw antibody responses that do many of the things we would want to see in an eventual vaccine,” said Dr. David Weiner, director of the vaccine and immunotherapy center at the Wistar Institute, which has collaborated with Inovio. “We are able to target things that would prevent the virus from having a safe harbor in the body.”
There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, with governments, drugmakers and researchers working on around 100 vaccine programs. Experts predict a safe and effective