On Aug 21, shares of several COVID-19 vaccine developers rose after a Reuters article suggested that the Biden administration will start a fall campaign urging all Americans to inoculate themselves with the updated COVID-19 vaccines.
The report came to light amid the rising COVID-19 infection cases as new subvariants of the virus continue to emerge. Per the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), total hospitalizations due to COVID-19 rose by almost 22% in the most recent week.
In response to the article, shares of Moderna MRNA, BioNTech BNTX and Novavax NVAX rose 9.3%, 6.5% and 13.0%, respectively, on Monday. All these vaccine makers are slated to roll out their respective updated vaccines during the upcoming fall season. These updated vaccines are likely to protect against the newer variants of the virus, including EG.5 (also known as ‘Eris’).
Recently designated by the World Health Organization (“WHO”) as a variant of interest, Eris is currently the dominant variant in the United States. Infection cases from FL.1.5.1 (also known as ‘Fornax’) are growing in the United States. Per the latest CDC data, Eris is responsible for more than 20% of COVID-19 infections in the country, while Fornax accounted for over 13% of all cases nationwide.
Last week, Moderna reported preliminary results from a clinical study showing that its updated COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273.815 significantly boosted neutralizing antibodies against the Eris and Fornax variants.Moderna has also submitted a regulatory application to the FDA seeking authorization for mRNA-1273.815. A final FDA decision is expected in the coming weeks for the vaccine’s launch for the upcoming fall season. A similar regulatory submission is also currently under review in Europe.
This June, BioNTech and partner Pfizer PFE submitted filings in the United States and Europe seeking approval for their Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. If approved, the companies intend to launch their vaccine for the fall season. Last week, Reuters reported that the updated BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine was effective against the Eris variant in a study conducted on mice. BioNTech/Pfizer expects to prepare their updated vaccine for supply immediately post-regulatory approvals.
Alongside its second-quarter 2023 results, Novavax announced that it had initiated a filing with the FDA for its updated COVID-19 vaccine. It aims to submit one in Europe in the coming weeks. Novavax stated that it is manufacturing its protein-based monovalent XBB.1.5 COVID vaccine candidate commercially, intended to be in the market during the upcoming fall vaccination campaign. Novavax aims to make its updated vaccine available and accessible on par with other COVID-19 vaccines.
The vaccine makers are suffering a heavy beatdown in product sales and market value as COVID-19 cases have significantly dropped compared with the last couple of years. Though the current rise in COVID-19 infection cases is expected to help revive demand for vaccines and support these companies in driving the top and the bottom line, a substantial boost, which was observed in the last few years – is unlikely.
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