In the race for a vaccine for COVID-19, there have been a number of large players. Only one is a pill. Vaxart phase 1 results ($VXRT) are still pending but optimism is high. Vaxart will not win the battle, Pfizer and Moderna have already obtained emergency authorization. But will they win the war? There is fair reason to believe they could, and that makes their stock worth a look.
Unlocking the full potential of oral vaccines.
The Vaxart company tag line really says it all. The company has developed a oral delivery of vaccination which really could change the way the world takes vaccines. No cold storage. No quick expirations. Unlike the newer vaccines built on mRNA platforms, the VAAST platform uses familiar processes (using an inert nanovirus) but delivers it via digestion. As a person afraid of needles this is great news for someone like myself. More importantly, in developing nations, it will be far easier to distribute this vaccine as it does not carry the same storage requirements as their injectable counterparts.
Vaxart Phase 1 Results are Still Pending.
With all of the optimism, we have not seen any true results from their initial phase 1 trial. Vaxart was not a player in the Operation Warp Speed mad dash, so it will take a bit to know more about if this vaccine will work. Phase 1 results are due sometime in the next month or so, and that will really give a solid idea on the future of their VXA-CoV2-1 offering.
With the mRNA vaccines already in the population, Vaxart is not going to be the company that ends this acute wave of the pandemic. But with COVID-19 expected to go endemic, a pill might be the golden key to easier mitigation.
Drawbacks compared to mRNA.
This week has shown us what could be a major drawback to this kind of platform. The recent strains of COVID-19 from the UK, South Africa and Nigeria have all shown rapid mutations for a coronavirus. mRNA vaccines can be quickly modified to adapt. While there is no evidence yet that these mutations will avoid the current vaccines, if it were shown to do so, mRNA can adjust in a manner of literal minutes. Nanovirus vaccines cannot adapt quite as quickly, so the efficacy may not be as high as mRNA vaccines. During a raging pandemic this isn’t ideal but for an endemic disease a cheap, pill based vaccine could still retain most of it’s benefits.
Should you invest in $VXRT?
Recently, some brokerages have put a HOLD on Vaxart, downgrading from a BUY. The stock has taken some hits over the past year but is still up quite a bit since January 1st. If the platform proves successful, the smaller company logically could be acquired by a larger company. This is a tough call but I believe in Vaxart and I have placed some chips on this bet.
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