A few sectors were on the move on Tuesday, but there was one area that saw some surprise losses. Vaccine stocks, which were once a favorite as the coronavirus remained front and center in the media, now seem to have fallen a lot in recent weeks. Investors appear to be pulling back, suspecting many companies have since become overvalued. With an FDA meeting on vaccines coming up soon, many vaccine stocks tumbled on Tuesday as investors weighed the likelihood of further boosters becoming a consistent part of government policy.
A well-known panel of Covid experts are meeting Wednesday to go over vaccine policy and what government strategy should be in regards to new, upcoming variants. The results of the meeting will provide insight into how departments like the FDA will handle the topic of boosters and when vaccines should be updated.
“The accumulating data suggest that the composition of vaccines may need to be updated at some point to ensure the high level of efficacy demonstrated in the early vaccine clinical trials,” said FDA staff in briefing documents prior to the planned meeting tomorrow.
In contrast to the well-defined routine for flu, there’s no real playbook when it comes to handling variants and updating covid shots. Especially since new variants haven’t settled into a clear seasonal pattern, making it harder to know whether or when new mutations might arise. Some countries, like China, have already re-entered lockdowns in certain regions. Austria also announced new measures as well.
This meeting is also a big deal for vaccine makers, as the forum could help set the stage for consistent, ongoing booster shots. In that case, this meeting could lead to billions of dollars of new revenue for big pharmaceutical companies. However, it seems that markets don’t think this is going to be likely.
Most vaccine stocks were tumbling on Tuesday ahead of this FDA meeting. The worst-performing stocks included Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX), which was down over 13.3%, despite there being no other bad news. Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) was also down around 6.6% as well.
While larger vaccine makers like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) weren’t moving as much as their smaller, more specialized counterparts. Considering their more diversified revenue streams, it’s not surprising that more pure-play covid vaccine makers have a lot more to lose depending on how the meeting goes. The advisory meeting will take place on Wednesday, and while experts will discuss ongoing policy, there’s no vote or big decision planned.
Novavax Company Profile
Novavax Inc is a biotechnology company that develops vaccines. The company works in the clinical stage of development with a focus on delivering novel products that prevent a broad range of diseases. Novavax works together with its wholly owned Swedish subsidiary to produce vaccine candidates to respond to both known and emerging disease threats. The company believes its vaccine technology has the potential to be applied broadly to a wide variety of human infectious diseases. Novavax develops product candidates geared toward all age demographics of the general population. – Warrior Trading News
