Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN) may have been in the red on Monday, but shares are quickly climbing. An exclusive report from Reuters highlights how the biotech company is gearing up to bring a Covid-19 vaccine to the U.S. by the second quarter. What do you need to know about OCGN stock now?
Investors likely know that Ocugen is partnered with Bharat Biotech, an Indian vaccine specialist. Bharat has launched its COVAXIN vaccine within India, and is one of the two vaccines currently part of the national rollout.
For Ocugen, the story is all about commercialization in the U.S. If COVAXIN can navigate the regulatory landscape and receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Ocugen gets a share of the money. Because of that, much of the story for OCGN stock these days hinges on COVAXIN.
Today, that story just got a lot brighter, according to an exclusive report from Reuters.
According to the report, Ocugen CEO Shankar Musunuri told Reuters that his company plans to sell 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. this year. How? Musunuri believes that COVAXIN will receive necessary authorization by the second quarter. The CEO said that he has talked with the FDA and that his company is following a path toward regulation. Additionally, he told Reuters that he hopes to submit an application for emergency-use authorization by April 2021. He hopes to begin importing doses prior to the approval, in order to speed up the potential rollout.
So with other vaccines available in the U.S., what should investors know?
OCGN Stock and a U.S. COVAXIN Rollout
There are two other things to note about OCGN stock.
Essentially, Ocugen knows that it faces a crowded market. Individuals in the U.S. currently have access to vaccines from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Anticipating those challenges, Musunuri told Reuters he is working to find COVAXIN a niche. And importantly for investors, there appear to be two opportunities.
The first is that Musunuri says COVAXIN could potentially be marketed as a Covid-19 vaccine for children (over 12 years old), filling a current gap. The second is that the CEO said COVAXIN could potentially serve as a booster shot. Because early results from Bharat Biotech suggest that the vaccine can protect against viral mutations, Musunuri is hopeful that COVAXIN could be a booster for adults that have already received a different vaccine type.
So what should you do know? The path to Covid-19 vaccine success is not a guarantee for Ocugen, but the news today makes everything a bit brighter. Look for more information when the company hosts its shareholder call on Thursday, March 18.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is a Web Content Producer with InvestorPlace.com.
