Here's Why Vir Biotechnology Jumped 12% in May
Shares of Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ: VIR) rose 12% in May, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the biotech published preclinical data in the journal Nature on S309, a monoclonal antibody that appears to target SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The S309 antibody was originally isolated from a patient who recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, but it appears that the structure of coronavirus responsible for SARS is close enough to that of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 that the antibody can bind to both.
Vir is developing two treatments -- VIR-7831 and VIR-7832 -- based on the S309 antibody in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). VIR-7831 was engineered to last longer in the body, while VIR-7832 includes that change plus one that may give it the ability to function as a T-cell vaccine.
Source Fool.com
