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Evaxion (EVAX) Up on Partnership With Afrigen for Gonorrhea Jab

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Evaxion Biotech A/S (EVAX - Free Report) announced collaboration with private company Afrigen Biologics to develop a prophylactic mRNA vaccine targeting gonorrhea. This partnership is based on Evaxion’s EDEN-discovered gonorrhea targets. Following this development, shares of Evaxion were up 42% on Sep 20.

EDEN is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered vaccine discovery platform. This platform rapidly identifies antigens that trigger a robust and highly protective immune response against bacterial infectious diseases.

Under this collaboration, Afrigen will explore the expression and biological activity of the EDEN-discovered antigen in mRNA format. The partnership will help expedite the clinical validation process of EDEN.

Gonorrhea is a global health concern that significantly impacts sexual and reproductive health worldwide. The infection is primarily caused by a bacteria called NEISSERIA gonorrhoeae. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 82 millionnew gonorrhea infections occur annually worldwide, with a concerning increase in antibiotic-resistant strains.

Shares of Evaxion have lost 61.7% year to date compared with the industry’s 6.3% decline.

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The collaboration will leverage the expertise and resources of WHO and the Medicines Patent Pool’s mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub. Afrigen will be responsible for the development and commercialization of the mRNA-based vaccine, with a primary focus on addressing the significant burden of gonorrhea in low and middle-income countries as well as in African regions where the prevalence of the disease is particularly high.

Evaxion is progressing well with its AI-designed vaccine candidates. Earlier this week, the company entered into another collaboration with a leading pharma company to develop its novel pipeline candidate — EVX-B3. This AI-designed vaccine candidate aims to target an undisclosed bacterial pathogen and will be developed through a co-funded partnership between Evaxion and an undisclosed collaborator.

These collaborations further diversify EVAX’s vaccine pipeline. The expansion into different disease areas enhances the company’s long-term growth prospects.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Evaxioncurrently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the same industry are Anika Therapeutics (ANIK - Free Report) , Annovis Bio (ANVS - Free Report) and Corcept Therapeutics (CORT - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate forAnika Therapeutics has narrowed from a loss of $1.41 per share to a loss of $1.24 for 2023. The bottom-line estimate has widened from a loss of 79 cents to a loss of 82 cents for 2024 during the same time frame. Shares of the company have lost 40.0% year to date.

ANIK’s earnings beat estimates in one of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in the remaining three, delivering an average negative surprise of 32.12%.

In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Annovis Bio has narrowed from a loss of $4.89 per share to a loss of $4.38 for 2023. The bottom-line estimate has narrowed from a loss of $3.18 to a loss of $2.77 for 2024 during the same time frame. Shares of the company have lost 20.0% year to date.

ANVS’ earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in one, delivering an average surprise of 13.40%.

In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Corcept’s earnings has gone up from 62 cents per share to 78 cents for 2023. The bottom-line estimate has also improved from 61 cents to 83 cents for 2024 during the same time frame. Shares of the company have rallied 62.3% year to date.

CORT’s earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark in the other two, delivering an average surprise of 6.99%.

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