OptiNose Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTN) shares popped on Tuesday after the company announced that it is making a move toward fighting COVID-19 with its tech. OptiNose joins an ever-expanding list of coronavirus stocks.
Optinose is a global specialty pharmaceutical company focused on serving the needs of patients cared for by ear, nose and throat and allergy specialists.
In terms of the specifics, the company announced that it has initiated the development of a new product candidate, OPN-019, which will combine its proprietary nasal Exhalation Delivery System (EDS) technology with an antiseptic that recently has been shown in vitro to kill the virus that causes COVID-19.
Because components of the drug-device combination product candidate are currently commercially available in the United States, the company expects to be able to rapidly progress to a meeting with the FDA to discuss an IND and then onward to clinical trials.
Management says that it is focused on supporting the initial stages of development within its current operating expense plan and intends to seek grants, partnerships and other sources of capital to fund future development.
Ramy Mahmoud, M.D., MPH, president and chief operating officer of OptiNose said that the aim was to give doctors a way to suppress virus multiplication and reduce viral load and the duration of shedding from the upper airways, thus reducing progression of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic disease, reducing transmission to others and protecting people by giving them post-exposure or high-risk prophylaxis.
OptiNose stock traded up about 19% on Tuesday to $7.64, in a 52-week range of $3.28 to $11.66. The consensus price target is $17.67.
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