We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Moderna, Pfizer, BioNTech, J&J and Regeneron
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 6, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Moderna, Inc. (MRNA - Free Report) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) , BioNTech SE (BNTX - Free Report) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Covid-19 Vaccine and Drug Makers Gear Up to Fight Omicron
The pharma, biotech and medical devices companies played a vital role in bringing the pandemic slightly under control by making vaccines, diagnostic tests and medicines/antibodies to treat COVID-19. The vaccines allowed global economies to recover, to some extent, after crashing in the first half of 2020 when the pandemic began.
Just when countries like the United States and Europe were seeing signs of the disease slowing down after third/fourth waves, the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has spread a sense of dread across much of the world.
The Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa and Botswana, has a large number of mutations. Some of these mutations are associated with a decrease in antibody protection and higher transmission, per the World Health Organization (WHO). The potential high risks of the Omicron variant led the WHO to add it to its “Variant of Concern” list on Nov 26. So far, around two dozen countries across the world have reported cases of the Omicron variant.
The fear of the variant is high due to concerns that it is potentially more contagious than the highly transmissible Delta variant and also due to its ability to bypass the protections provided by the currently available vaccines. The Omicron variant has ignited fears that the currently available COVID-19 vaccines and treatments could be less effective against it.
Per a Financial Times article published on Nov 30, Moderna’s chief executive officer (“CEO”) Stéphane Bancel warned that the heavily mutated Omicron variant may reduce the effectiveness of its authorized COVID-19 vaccine or booster dose. Moderna CEO stated that it will take several months before an Omicron-specific booster can be made available in large quantities to vaccinate a large number of citizens.
On the other hand, rival Pfizer partner BioNTech believe their vaccine will likely offer strong protection against any severe disease from Omicron variant. Getting a third or “booster” shot of their vaccine should provide further protection against Omicron infection.
Omicron has once again shifted the focus on pharma/biotech companies in the hope that they make redesigned vaccines or drugs to combat this new mutation of the virus. Some vaccine makers including Moderna and J&J have announced their strategies for developing updated vaccines and boosters in order to respond to this variant. Companies like Regeneron, making monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19, have also responded on how their medicines work against Omicron.
Moderna has already tested a 100-microgram booster dose, compared to its authorized booster dose of 50-microgram of its COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273. The higher dose of its booster dose has resulted in the highest neutralizing titers against prior SARS-CoV-2 strains. Moderna is now rapidly testing sera from participants of high-dose booster studies to see if the dose provides neutralizing protection against Omicron.
Secondly, Moderna is also testing its two other existing multi-valent booster candidates against the Omicron variant. Thirdly, Moderna is also planning to develop an Omicron-specific booster candidate.
J&J is testing the effectiveness of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron variant. The company is testing the blood serum from participants of completed and ongoing booster studies for neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant.
J&J is also pursuing a new vaccine against Omicron, which will be pushed to clinical development, rapidly, if needed.
Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty is reportedly being tested to see if antibodies found in the blood of people vaccinated with their shot works against Omicron. Pfizer and BioNTech expect to be able to ship redesigned Comirnaty, if needed, to provide protection against the Omicron variant in approximately 100 days per a Reuters article.
Novavax, whose vaccine is not yet authorized in the United States, is also evaluating its vaccine against the Omicron variant. Novavax has also begun developing an Omicron-specific vaccine construct.
With regard to companies making monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19, Regeneron said that its antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV could be less effective against Omicron. Further tests are being conducted to understand the impact using the actual Omicron variant sequence.
Regeneron’s REGEN-COV comprises two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab and has been effective against the Delta variant, which is the predominant strain in the United States at present.
Reportedly, Lilly is working to understand how its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, bamlanivimab plus etesevimab, works against Omicron. Gilead, reportedly, believes its drug Veklury (remdesivir) may continue to be effective against Omicron. Glaxo and partner Vir Biotech said that the pre-clinical data showed that their monoclonal antibody candidate, sotrovimab, retains activity against key mutations of the Omicron variant
Meanwhile, new oral antiviral pills, Paxlovid and molnupiravir, respectively from Pfizer and Merck, are expected to hold up well against the variant and help reduce the severity of infections, if authorized by the FDA. Both companies have filed applications with the FDA for emergency use approval for the pills.
The monoclonal antibody makers may be required to update their medicines in case Omicron becomes widespread.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Shutterstock
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Moderna, Pfizer, BioNTech, J&J and Regeneron
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 6, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Moderna, Inc. (MRNA - Free Report) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) , BioNTech SE (BNTX - Free Report) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Covid-19 Vaccine and Drug Makers Gear Up to Fight Omicron
The pharma, biotech and medical devices companies played a vital role in bringing the pandemic slightly under control by making vaccines, diagnostic tests and medicines/antibodies to treat COVID-19. The vaccines allowed global economies to recover, to some extent, after crashing in the first half of 2020 when the pandemic began.
Just when countries like the United States and Europe were seeing signs of the disease slowing down after third/fourth waves, the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has spread a sense of dread across much of the world.
The Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa and Botswana, has a large number of mutations. Some of these mutations are associated with a decrease in antibody protection and higher transmission, per the World Health Organization (WHO). The potential high risks of the Omicron variant led the WHO to add it to its “Variant of Concern” list on Nov 26. So far, around two dozen countries across the world have reported cases of the Omicron variant.
The fear of the variant is high due to concerns that it is potentially more contagious than the highly transmissible Delta variant and also due to its ability to bypass the protections provided by the currently available vaccines. The Omicron variant has ignited fears that the currently available COVID-19 vaccines and treatments could be less effective against it.
Per a Financial Times article published on Nov 30, Moderna’s chief executive officer (“CEO”) Stéphane Bancel warned that the heavily mutated Omicron variant may reduce the effectiveness of its authorized COVID-19 vaccine or booster dose. Moderna CEO stated that it will take several months before an Omicron-specific booster can be made available in large quantities to vaccinate a large number of citizens.
On the other hand, rival Pfizer partner BioNTech believe their vaccine will likely offer strong protection against any severe disease from Omicron variant. Getting a third or “booster” shot of their vaccine should provide further protection against Omicron infection.
Omicron has once again shifted the focus on pharma/biotech companies in the hope that they make redesigned vaccines or drugs to combat this new mutation of the virus. Some vaccine makers including Moderna and J&J have announced their strategies for developing updated vaccines and boosters in order to respond to this variant. Companies like Regeneron, making monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19, have also responded on how their medicines work against Omicron.
Moderna has already tested a 100-microgram booster dose, compared to its authorized booster dose of 50-microgram of its COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273. The higher dose of its booster dose has resulted in the highest neutralizing titers against prior SARS-CoV-2 strains. Moderna is now rapidly testing sera from participants of high-dose booster studies to see if the dose provides neutralizing protection against Omicron.
Secondly, Moderna is also testing its two other existing multi-valent booster candidates against the Omicron variant. Thirdly, Moderna is also planning to develop an Omicron-specific booster candidate.
J&J is testing the effectiveness of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron variant. The company is testing the blood serum from participants of completed and ongoing booster studies for neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant.
J&J is also pursuing a new vaccine against Omicron, which will be pushed to clinical development, rapidly, if needed.
Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty is reportedly being tested to see if antibodies found in the blood of people vaccinated with their shot works against Omicron. Pfizer and BioNTech expect to be able to ship redesigned Comirnaty, if needed, to provide protection against the Omicron variant in approximately 100 days per a Reuters article.
Novavax, whose vaccine is not yet authorized in the United States, is also evaluating its vaccine against the Omicron variant. Novavax has also begun developing an Omicron-specific vaccine construct.
With regard to companies making monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19, Regeneron said that its antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV could be less effective against Omicron. Further tests are being conducted to understand the impact using the actual Omicron variant sequence.
Regeneron’s REGEN-COV comprises two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab and has been effective against the Delta variant, which is the predominant strain in the United States at present.
Reportedly, Lilly is working to understand how its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, bamlanivimab plus etesevimab, works against Omicron. Gilead, reportedly, believes its drug Veklury (remdesivir) may continue to be effective against Omicron. Glaxo and partner Vir Biotech said that the pre-clinical data showed that their monoclonal antibody candidate, sotrovimab, retains activity against key mutations of the Omicron variant
Meanwhile, new oral antiviral pills, Paxlovid and molnupiravir, respectively from Pfizer and Merck, are expected to hold up well against the variant and help reduce the severity of infections, if authorized by the FDA. Both companies have filed applications with the FDA for emergency use approval for the pills.
The monoclonal antibody makers may be required to update their medicines in case Omicron becomes widespread.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.