"We expect that our vaccine will be less impacted by new var
Vaxart stock could rebound if Chief Executive Andrei Floroiu's claim that the vaccine might be "more broadly protective" holds up in additional testing.
Most coronavirus vaccines — both authorized and in testing — go after the spike protein on the outside of the virus. But the spike protein is mutating, evidenced by strains in the U.K. and South Africa. By targeting both the spike protein and what's known as the nucleoprotein, Vaxart says its vaccine might protect against mutated forms of the virus.
"We expect that our vaccine will be less impacted by new variants than injectable vaccines," Vaxart Chief Scientific Officer Sean Tucker said in a written statement.