iBio Inc. (NYSE: IBIO) was a big gainer in yesterday’s trading session. The stock gapped up and closed the day with gains of 61.69%. This came after it announced that, it working jointly with CC-Pharming Ltd to develop a vaccine for Coronavirus. This vaccine will be developed using iBio’s Fastpharming system.
The two companies’ collaboration is built on more than 2 decades of experience in research and development of vaccines. Dr. Kevin Wang the Chief Scientific Officer of CC-Pharming has decades of experience with MERS- coronavirus, while Dr. Sylvain Marcel, the vice president Upstream Bioprocessing at IBio has decades of experience in quick design of manufacturing process in bio pharma. The two companies announced that, if their research turns out a success, they will be in a position to deliver the end product fast, through the iBio Fastpharming manufacturing center.
iBio’s fast manufacturing facility was built using money from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). It was a part of the blue angel initiative that enables capabilities for fast delivery of countermeasures as a response to disease outbreaks. It contains automated hydroponics and vertical processes for making biological medicines. The two companies will be in a position to quickly deploy a vaccine, by using a large number of plants for production purposes. In the past, the fastpharming technology has been used to come up with antibody candidates for diseases like Ebola and Dengue Fever.
Commenting on the deal, Dr. Wang stated that, the collaboration was important in coming up with a plant-based vaccine for the outbreak in China, and worldwide. He added that, iBio capabilities will help increase the two companies’ capability in an effort to combat the worldwide threat of coronavirus.
Going by its price action, the stock gapped up to open at $0.48. It then traded between a low of $0.38 and a high of $0.52, before closing the day at $0.44. Volumes in the day stood at 102.3 million.
About iBio Inc.
iBio Inc. is a biotech company that offers manufacturing services to its clients in the U.S and globally. It is based in New York, New York.