Inovio Coronavirus Vaccine To Enter Mid-To-Late Stage Testing In September

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc INO said during the earnings call Monday it expected its COVID-19 vaccine to enter mid-to-late stage human trials in September, Reuters reported.

Coronavirus Vaccine Update: The Pennsylvania-based drugmaker had previously estimated it would begin the phase two and three trials during summer this year.

Inovio said during the earnings call it was exploring partnerships beyond the United States and Europe for its vaccine candidate, and expected repetitive revenue similar to those from the flu vaccine.

The company reiterated its previous estimate of producing one million doses this year and 100 million by 2021, and said it planned to obtain additional external funding to scale up the manufacturing of the vaccine. 

Inovio claimed the vaccine could be stored at room temperature for over a year and in normal refrigeration for up to 5 years. 

The pricing of the drug would be similar to those of other companies. Rival Moderna Inc’s MRNA is reportedly the steepest priced vaccine at between $50 to $60 per course.

Q2 Earnings Miss: Inovio posted a second-quarter loss of 83 cents per share, compared with loss of 30 cents per share in the same period a year earlier. 

Total revenue was $267,000, compared with $136,000 for the same period in 2019.

Factset analysts had predicted a loss of 17 cents per share and revenue of $2.6 million, MarketWatch reported.

The company attributed the net loss to a derivatives liability, which mandates revaluation at each reporting period. Without this expense, the net loss per share would have been 20 cents, it claimed.

COVID-19 Vaccine Competitors: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson JNJ, Pfizer Inc PFE and its partner BioNTech SE BNTX are all nearing or already conducting late-stage human trials for their COVID-19 vaccine candidates.  

INO Price Action: Inovio shares traded 6.8% lower at $17.70 in the after-hours session after reporting the earnings.