Although there are close to one hundred separate coronavirus treatments being developed at the moment, there is still plenty of investor excitement for any newcomers to the scene. One relatively unknown early-stage biotech stock, Sorrento Therapeutics, almost tripled on Friday when the company issued a statement that its new antibody cocktail demonstrated impressive results in helping patients with COVID-19.
The company went on to say that its antibody candidate would act as a protective shield against the virus, with some data showing a 100% inhibition rate according to the preclinical study. Sorrento will also be submitting this data for peer review with other scientists. As to be expected when it comes to positive coronavirus news, investors jumped on the opportunity to buy shares of Sorrento, sending the company’s stock surging to a new, multi-year high.
“Our STI-1499 antibody shows exceptional therapeutic potential and could potentially save lives following receipt of necessary regulatory approvals. We at Sorrento are working day and night to complete the steps necessary to get this product candidate approved and available to the waiting public,” said Dr. Henry Ji, Sorrento’s CEO, in an official press release on Friday.
There are a number of types of coronavirus vaccines out there, with the majority of them being vaccines that are meant to immunize a person from the virus. Some treatments include antiviral drugs, many of which include former Ebola and SARS/MERS candidates as well. These types of treatments help mitigate symptoms in patients that are already infected but aren’t necessarily a preventative treatment in the same way that a vaccine is.
Although Sorrento isn’t the only company out there developing an antibody-based treatment against the coronavirus, there aren’t that many taking this approach either. The biggest name in this area includes Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), which is developing its own antibody treatment that could rival Sorrento’s. At the moment, Sorrento said it can produce around 200,000 doses per month, but could scale up to one million doses if the treatment receives approval from healthcare authorities. While it’s hard to guess exactly when such approval would be given considering that further trials are needed, it’s quite possible that it could be sometime this year.
Shares of Sorrento shot up as much as 160% on Friday in response to this news, with shares surging an extra 29% in after-hours trading on top of these already impressive gains. While a relatively obscure company by most standards, the few Wall Street analysts covering the stock all have “buy” ratings on the business. Sorrento is better known as a gene-editing stock, with the company working on its own potential treatments in that area. However, this new antibody candidate could end up becoming a major blockbuster for the small-cap biotech stock if everything ends up working out.
Sorrento Therapeutics Company Profile
Sorrento Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immunotherapies for oncology and autoimmune/inflammation diseases. The antibody technologies target various locations: extracellular, intracellular, and membrane-bound antigens. The product portfolio consists of BioSimilar/BioBetter antibodies, CAR-T programs for treatment of solid tumors, adoptive cellular therapies, immuno-oncology mAbs, and antibody drug conjugates. – Warrior Trading News
