By Dean Seal
Vaxxinity Inc. said Friday that UB-612, its Covid-19 booster candidate, achieved at trial similar results to Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine and better results than AstraZeneca Plc’s and Sinopharm Group Co.’s Covid-19 vaccines.
Premarket trading in Vaxxinity shares was halted Friday just before the Dallas-based biotechnology company released topline Phase 3 trial results showing UB-612 met its primary and key secondary endpoints.
The Vaxxinity booster was administered in three separate substudies to populations vaccinated for Covid-19 with Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Sinopharm shots and infected with Wuhan and Omicron BA.5 Covid-19 strains. Vaxxinity said that 28 days after administration, UB-612 outperformed AstraZeneca’s ChAdOx1-S vaccine and Sinopharm’s BIBP vaccine, generating higher neutralizing antibody titers, while it produced neutralizing antibody titers comparable with Pfizer’s BNT162b2 vaccine.
Chief Executive Mei Mei Hu said UB-612’s lower cost structure and ease of distribution gives it the potential to become the optimal choice for Covid-19 booster protection, particularly in developing nations.
“After multiple clinical trials, we have consistently shown that UB-612 is well tolerated, continues to elicit broad coverage against emerging variants, and generates a durable neutralizing antibody titer,” Ms. Hu said.
Shares initially soared on Friday by more than 20% to $3 when a halt on premarket trading was lifted at 8:30 a.m. Shares swung back down 15 minutes later to a 3% loss at $2.30.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
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