What happened
Shares of Amyris (AMRS +0.00%) were jumping 14.8% as of 3:43 p.m. EDT on Friday. The big gain came after the synthetic biology company announced encouraging in vivo (in the body) results from a study evaluating an intranasal RNA COVID-19 vaccine Amyris is developing with the Infectious Disease Research Institute.
So what
Amyris said the results from the study found that its intranasal vaccine generates antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and provides protection from upper respiratory infection by the virus. The company thinks the experimental vaccine could provide more protection against coronavirus variants than current messenger RNA vaccines do.
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It's been a good year for Amyris so far, with the biotech stock nearly doubling year to date as of the market close on Thursday. Today's news generated even more enthusiasm among investors.
However, Amyris still has multiple hurdles to jump before it could potentially market its COVID-19 vaccine. And the company, along with IDRI, would likely target developing nations that won't be able to pay as much as countries such as the U.S. even if the vaccine wins regulatory approvals.
Now what
Amyris didn't provide a lot of information from its latest results. The company said it plans to give a more detailed update during an upcoming investor webinar.
