PDS Biotech (NASDAQ:PDSB) stock is heading higher on Thursday after announcing funding for the company’s vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
A news release from PDS Biotech reveals that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil (MCTI) is offering up to $60 million in funding. This commitment comes from the Secretary for Research and Scientific Training of MCTI.
The funding is being awarded to the COVID-19 vaccine consortium, which includes PDS Biotech, Farmacore Biotechnology and Blanver Farmoquímica. The vaccine is being developed using PDSB’s proprietary Versamune T-cell activating platform.
PDS Biotech notes that the MCTI is planning to provide the funds as soon as possible to prepare for a Phase1 1/2 clinical trial of the vaccine. However, the group has to first wait for approval from Brazil’s regulators.
Dr. Frank Bedu-Addo, CEO of PDS Biotech, said this about the vaccine news sending PDSB stock higher today.
“The preclinical results demonstrate the vaccine’s potential to induce a broad range of robust anti SARS-CoV-2 immune responses. The rapidly increasing number of SARS-CoV-2 mutations highlights the need for novel, second generation vaccines capable of generating both killer and helper T-cells that can recognize and attack conserved and non-mutating regions of the virus.”
News of the vaccine funding caught the interest of investors today. As of this writing, more than 22 million shares of PDSB stock have changed hands. To put that in perspective, the company’s daily average trading volume is roughly 872,000 shares.
PDSB stock was up 64.4% as of Thursday afternoon and is up 172.8% since the start of the year.
On the date of publication, William White did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
