If you've been too distracted by the Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP) IPO lottery ticket trade to
keep your eye on small-cap biotech moves, you may not have noticed VBI Vaccines, Inc. - Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:
VBIV) shares quietly doubling in value since the start of
the year.
VBI Vaccines is a biopharmaceutical focused on developing — you guessed it — vaccines, with an eye toward infectious disease and
immuno-oncology.
SCI-B-VAC
Its first marketed product, Sci-B-Vac (a hepatitis B vaccine), recently
received both a positive European Medical Agency Scientific Advice regarding its development path, and a positive response from Health Canada's
initial valuation of its Phase III clinical program. The company is seeking FDA evaluation and approval for its Sci-B-Vac Phase III
study.
Here's what you should know about Sci-B-Vac: To fight viruses, drug makers these days create synthetic versions of a virus in
hopes they can stimulate the body's immune response, leading the patient to become immune to said virus. Viruses express a range of
antigens, and the more of these a vaccine can mimic the more effective it will be. According to Investing.com,
Sci-B-Vac expresses more hepatitis B antigens than any other vaccine.
VBIV Shares Ripping
After opening 2017 at $3.09 per share, the issue has been on a tear this week, making a new 52-week high of $6.46 early in
Tuesday's session. Equities.com last
summer called VBI one of the most interesting biotech companies right now, and was started at a Buy rating last summer by
Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Kevin DeGeeter. Its pipeline also includes congenital vaccines for both Zika virus and
cytomegalovirus.
While it has gained approval for SCI-B-Vac in 15 countries, without approval in the United States or Europe, it's hard to gauge
the potential for the company or the stock.
The market seems to be optimistic, though — after coming off the highs shares were still up 1.15 percent late morning Tuesday
despite the iShares Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: IBB) being hammered by a tweet from President Donald Trump on lowering drug pricing.
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