What happened
Shares of Invivyd (IVVD 1.70%) were up 35.4% for the week as of Thursday afternoon. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializes in using monoclonal antibodies to treat highly infectious viral respiratory diseases, such as SARS, caused by the SARS coronavirus, and influenza.
The stock closed last week at $1.81, then rose to as high as $2.68 early Thursday afternoon. The stock has a 52-week low of $1.42 and a 52-week high of $12.11 and is down more the 63% over the past year.
So what
Invivyd has a small market cap ($270 million) and a low share price, so it doesn't take much to move the needle. Its shares steadily climbed throughout the week after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this week it was considering proposing an annual COVID-19 preventative shot similar to a flu shot. The reason this matters for Invivyd is the company's lead pipeline candidate is NVD200, a combination monoclonal antibody to treat COVID-19 that is scheduled to begin a phase 1 trial starting this quarter. While that means it may take a while for NVD200 to get to the market, if it ever does, it also means a long window for development might still pay off for the therapy. There are currently four approved COVID-19 vaccines, but the FDA is looking forward to one vaccine for any likely potential COVID-19 variants in a given year.
Now what
Invivyd has solid long-term prospects, with four other programs in its pipeline besides NVD200. It is also awaiting to see if it will get Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for adintrevimab to treat or prevent COVID-19. And as of the third quarter, it has $419 million in cash, enough, the company said, to fund operations into 2024.
