Sorrento Therapeutics Wins FDA Approval to Proceed With COVID-19 Study

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Sorrento Therapeutics Wins FDA Approval to Proceed With COVID-19 Study

© courtesy of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Sorrento Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE) shares jumped on Thursday after the company announced that it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 treatment.

The long and short of it was that the FDA issued a letter to Sorrento that it may proceed with its Phase 1 clinical trial for Covi-Guard (STI-1499) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

As Sorrento previously announced, in preclinical studies, STI-1499 demonstrated 100% in vitro neutralizing effect against SARS-CoV-2, preventing infection of healthy cells in such preclinical in vitro studies.

Separately, STI-1499 was further evaluated using multiple strains of SARS-CoV-2, including the highly contagious D614G variant. In these preclinical studies, the antibody has been 100% effective against the highly contagious D614G variant strain at similar doses to those observed in experiments with the USA-WA1/2020 strain.

[nativounit]

At the same time, animal data generated in Syrian Golden hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 was presented to the FDA in support of a post-exposure human treatment dose for the IND.

The highest proposed dose (200 mg per patient) in the Phase 1 trial is a lower dose than currently being tested for other known SARS-CoV-2 targeted antibodies or antibody cocktails in active clinical studies. The potentially high potency of STI-1499 antibody may allow for rapid scaling up of manufacturing operations.

Sorrento Therapeutics stock traded up about 19% on Thursday, at $9.95 in a 52-week range of $1.39 to $19.39. The consensus price target is $24.00.

[recirclink id=738525][wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618