Inovio to discontinue COVID vaccine trial, appoints Jacqueline Shea as CEO
(Reuters) – Inovio Prescription drugs Inc will discontinue a late-stage examine of its COVID-19 vaccine, the corporate stated on Tuesday, and appointed its working chief as the brand new chief government, sending the corporate’s shares down almost 20% after the bell.
The choice on the trial comes after rising world knowledge confirmed a decrease incidence of extreme COVID instances, which might result in a rise in trial dimension and prices, the corporate stated.
It might now deal with growing its vaccine candidate, INO-4800, as a heterologous booster.
The biotechnology firm’s new technique additionally comes with a change on the helm, with Jacqueline Shea taking on as CEO, efficient instantly. She replaces present CEO and co-founder Joseph Kim.
The change on the prime comes at an important stage when the corporate has fallen behind within the COVID vaccine race.
“We sit up for Dr. Shea taking the helm throughout a very difficult interval in Inovio’s historical past,” board chairman Simon Benito stated in a press release.
In March, the corporate paused enrolment within the late-stage examine of its lead COVID vaccine candidate, INO-4800, after the shot confirmed considerably decrease ranges of antibodies towards the Omicron variant in lab testing.
In November final yr, Inovio resumed the late-stage trial of its COVID vaccine in america after being on scientific maintain for 14 months. The FDA in late 2020 had halted the examine because it sought extra knowledge, together with particulars on a supply gadget used to inject genetic materials into cells.
Inovio’s board plans to place Shea on the corporate’s board as a director, following its annual assembly of stockholders on Could 16.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Modifying by Shailesh Kuber)
