Should Investors Be Watching These Top Biotech Stocks Right Now?
Biotech stocks are among the most active stocks in the stock market today. Namely, a key factor contributing to this now would be the latest update on the Covid pandemic. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, global health officials identified a new variant of Covid, dubbed the Omicron variant. With the World Health Organization flagging it as a variant of concern, pandemic fears are likely resurging. Accordingly, this is when vaccine stocks among other biotech firms come into focus. After all, these are the companies that develop our primary means of combating new viruses and serious diseases.
Sure, most would be focusing on the likes of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) now. This would be the case as they are already beginning efforts to combat the Omicron variant of the virus. However, there are also plenty of newcomers in the biotech world to consider. As more seasoned investors would know, said newcomers can also see explosive gains on positive developmental pipeline updates. We could look at Krystal Biotech (NASDAQ: KRYS) for example. After posting positive topline results from a key trial on its Vyjuvek treatment for dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, the company’s shares soared in value.
All in all, with all the current activity in the industry, investors could be looking out for the latest biotech stocks making waves. Should you be one of them, here are four to know now.
Top Biotech Stocks To Watch Ahead Of December 2021
- NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: NRXP)
- Adagio Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ADGI)
- Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ: VIR)
- Valneva (NASDAQ: VALN)
NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc.
NRX Pharmaceuticals is a biotech company that has recently made headlines. The company published impressive findings for its Zyesami drug today. The FDA has additionally granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation, a Special Protocol Agreement, and a Biomarker Letter of Support to NRX for NRX-101, an investigational medicine to treat suicidal bipolar depression. NRX-101 is currently in Phase 3 trials, with readouts expected in 2022. NRXP stock currently trades at $8.10 as of Monday’s closing bell with shares closing up by 20%
The company today says that it has identified a significantly higher likelihood of surviving and recovering from critical Covid in Zyesami treated patients. The analysis was conducted in the subgroup of Zyesami and placebo-treated patients who were previously treated with remdesivir in the COVID-AID trial representing approximately 70% of the study population.
Furthermore, the analysis identified a 2.5 fold increased odds of being alive and free of respiratory failure at 60 days and a significant four-fold odds of being alive at day 60 among patients treated with the drug compared to those treated with the placebo. Given this exciting piece of news, should you consider adding NRXP stock to your watchlist?
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Adagio Therapeutics Inc.
Adagio Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes antibody-based solutions for infectious diseases with pandemic potential. Namely, this would include Covid and influenza. Its portfolio of antibodies has been optimized using Adimab’s industry-leading antibody engineering capabilities. ADGI stock closed Monday’s trading session up over 86% and trades at $46.83 a share.
Investors are likely responding to news the company posted today. Diving in, Adagio provided information related to the potential of its lead Covid antibody candidate, ADG20, to address the Omicron variant and other known variants of concern.
ADG20 is an investigational monoclonal antibody (mAb) product candidate designed to provide broad and potent neutralizing activity against Covid. Also, this treatment provides a potential duration of protection for up to one year in a single injection. With that being said, is ADGI stock worth adding to your portfolio?
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Vir Biotechnology Inc.
Next up, we have Vir Biotechnology, a commercial-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. VIR stock closed up 12% on Monday’s trading session and currently trades at $40.48. This is also likely due to the company gaining traction for its mAbs treatment with the new variant surging across the world.
On November 17, the company announced together with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), that the U.S. government has agreed to purchase Sotrovimab, its investigational monoclonal antibody for the early treatment of Covid.
Furthermore, the contracts are worth approximately $1 billion and this comes after the FDA granting it Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in May 2021. George Scangos, CEO of Vir, had this to say, “Monoclonal antibodies play an essential role in the treatment of certain patients with COVID-19, and we’re grateful that this agreement will allow more healthcare providers and patients who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19 to access Sotrovimab. Given ongoing evidence, which demonstrates its ability to maintain activity against the tested circulating variants of concern, including Delta, we are confident Sotrovimab will continue to be important in the fight against COVID-19.” With that in mind, is VIR stock worth watching?
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Valneva
Following that, we have Valneva. By and large, it is a French biotech firm that specializes in developing vaccines for infectious diseases. For a sense of scale, the company’s current network of operations spans the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Among the key focuses of Valneva’s developmental pipeline would be Lyme disease, chikungunya, and Covid. Thanks to Valneva’s latest update on its inactivated Covid vaccine, VALN stock is gaining attention now.
As it stands, VALN stock currently trades at $67.28 as of Monday’s closing bell. This would be after gaining by over 12% today. As of last week, Valneva is set to supply the European Commission with 60 million doses of its Covid vaccine candidate. Through an Advance Purchase Agreement, the company will do so over the next two years.
According to Valneva CBO Franck Grimaud, Valneva’s vaccine serves a crucial role in handling the latest Covid wave in Europe. By and large, the general focus on VALN stock now is understandable with more Covid variants of concern emerging. If anything, this would show that there is still a market for up-and-coming names in the vaccine stock trade. With that said, will you be keeping an eye on VALN stock now?
