The race for a vaccine to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus has brought attention to a number of small biotech companies. On that list is iBio (NYSEMKT:IBIO), and IBIO stock is trading much higher now than it did in January.
The company’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate is known as IBIO-200. If it weren’t for IBIO-200, it’s highly unlikely that the share price would have moved so much recently.
But the momentum is undeniable. IBIO stock has punished short sellers along its journey from 30 cents in January to well over $1 in May. Can this upward trajectory continue?
Given iBio’s ambitious efforts toward a breakthrough Covid-19 vaccine, shareholders have a strong incentive to hold on for the ride.
IBIO Stock Benefits From Vaccine Collaboration
There’s no question that the world wants an effective coronavirus vaccine and the sooner, the better. It’s not only a public health issue at this point, but also an economic issue.
Many businesses can’t properly function until states lift shelter-in-place orders and consumers feel comfortable leaving their homes. Yet, this level of confidence probably won’t come until a Covid-19 vaccine is available to the public.
With this in mind, what will it take for investors to lift IBIO stock to the next level? Well, they’ll have to believe that the company is making strides toward developing a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine. They will also want evidence that iBio is preparing for rapid production of the vaccine.
And indeed, there is strong evidence that iBio is ready to scale up the production of IBIO-200. In order to accelerate iBio’s production capacity, the company has joined forces with the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, or NIIMBL.
NIIMBL is dedicated to accelerating innovations in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing space. Its network of over 140 industry and academic partners in the United States can help iBio scale up quickly in the quest to bring IBIO-200 doses, if approved, to the public.
iBio Is Focusing on Rapid Production
Like iBio’s other proprietary formulations, IBIO-200 is derived from a plant-based manufacturing process. This process is known as FastPharming, and its name suggests the potential for rapid vaccine production.
For iBio, aligning with NIIMBL could make an already fast process even faster. NIIMBL Director Kelvin Lee, in turn, expressed an eagerness to work with iBio in the race to get a vaccine to the public.
“Our member community is working in a variety of ways to prevent, reduce and combat pandemics like COVID-19. We welcome iBio to our community of innovators in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing space,” stated Lee.
The synergy between iBio and NIIMBL provides a strong value proposition for IBIO stockholders. iBio already has a massive 130,000-square-foot facility in which to develop the company’s plant-based solutions.
Plus, iBio has unique and proprietary technology in its FastPharming methodologies. With all of that, the addition of NIIMBL’s extensive resources should provide iBio with yet another competitive advantage.
The company, therefore, has every reason to remain ambitious in its pursuit of an effective and approved coronavirus vaccine. But in terms of rapid production, how fast could iBio go?
CEO Tom Isett offers an ambitious vision involving the quick distribution of hundreds of millions of vaccine doses:
“If … IBIO-200, results in an approved vaccine, we estimate that we could make about 500 million doses of high-quality product annually at our Texas facility, depending upon the potency we see in the clinic.”
Assuming an effective and approved vaccine, 500 doses per year would be invaluable in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The Final Word on iBio
iBio’s FastPharming technology has the potential to revolutionize the market for vaccine production. And, teaming up with NIIMBL could help iBio bring a much-needed Covid-19 vaccine to the public sooner and in greater quantities.
Therefore, with the company’s ambitious vision for rapid vaccine production, IBIO stockholders should expect prices to move forward throughout 2020.
Louis Navellier had an unconventional start, as a grad student who accidentally built a market-beating stock system — with returns rivaling even Warren Buffett. In his latest feat, Louis discovered the “Master Key” to profiting from the biggest tech revolution of this (or any) generation. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.
