Investors are pushing up shares of Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN) ahead of Tuesday’s market open after its Indian partner Bharat Biotech shared positive results from its Phase 3 study of Covaxin, a Covid-19 candidate. OCGN stock was up by more than 14% by 7:30 a.m. Eastern.
In trials conducted in India, the vaccine candidate demonstrated a vaccine efficacy in mild, moderate and severe instances of the disease of 77.8% with efficacy against severe Covid-19 disease alone of 93.4%, according to the Malvern, Pennsylvania biotech’s statement on Friday.
Bharat’s Phase 3 clinical trial enrolled 25,798 participants across 25 sites. These participants were between 18-98 years of age in India, including 2,750 over the age of 60 and 7,065 with comorbidities. The partners had earlier reported efficacy rates of 77.8% in protecting against Covid-19.
“We expect these efficacy and safety outcomes, along with demonstrated efficacy against emerging variants of concern, will support our initiatives to bring Covaxin to U.S. and Canadian markets,” said Dr. Shankar Musunuri, chairman and CEO of Ocugen. Ocugen recently announced that it will seek a Biologics License Application (BLA) for Covaxin in the U.S. and has initiated discussions with Health Canada for regulatory approval.
OCGN Stock Has Doubled on 2021’s Roller-Coaster Ride
Prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Ocugen focused exclusively on addressing rare eye diseases but the company consistently failed to deliver encouraging results. Many investors gave up on OCGN stock until the Bharat tie-up.
Hanging on every morsel of news and rumor, stock traders have so far this year stoked the Ocugen share price up by more than 137%. Days earlier, OCGN stock was added to the Russell 3000, meaning that any funds tracking the index must buy the shares.
A major catalyst for OCGN stock is its enormous popularity with social media, InvestorPlace contributor Josh Enomoto noted this morning. “And deliberate or not, such intense bullishness could lead to a short squeeze,” he wrote. “Adding more intrigue to this thesis, there initially appears to be credible validity for this risky tactic.”
On the date of publication, Robert Lakin did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
InvestorPlace contributor Robert Lakin is a veteran financial writer and editor, including previous stints with Bloomberg News and as a buyside equity research editor. His Substack newsletter, TLV Strategist, covers the Israel business scene.
