Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), together with your partner BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX)and Modern (NASDAQ: MRNA) they are undoubtedly the clear leaders in the COVID-19 market now. Some Americans are already receiving vaccines from companies and many others are awaiting vaccination.
But is there any stock that has recovered that could still win the COVID-19 vaccine race? In that Motley Fool Live video recorded on December 18, 2020, head of health and cannabis department Corinne Cardina and Fool.com writer Keith Speights discuss two actions that can be like the turtle in Aesop’s famous fable about the turtle and the hare.
Corinne Cardina: Let’s answer some questions about Slido. James would like to know which companies are currently working on vaccines that meet doctors’ suggestions. Keith, can you talk about maybe one or two of these turtle companies that can really take off and really help with the pandemic that’s not called Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech?
Keith Speights: Right. Well, for example, Dr. Gellin mentioned single dose vaccines. Well, the leader on that front would be Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).
Johnson & Johnson is developing a single dose vaccine. J&J said it will announce the effectiveness results in January and hopes to be able to apply for emergency use authorization and hopefully receive it in February. So this is a vaccine that we hope to be on the way soon and is a single dose vaccine. I mentioned before that I am very interested in seeing how effective J&J is. I really hope it is at least close to what we saw with Pfizer and Moderna. So, it is really important to observe.
Then there is another company that I called the underdog in the race, Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ARCT), ARCT is the ticker there. Arcturus also has a single dose vaccine, and the difference is that it is also a messenger RNA vaccine, just like the vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna. We have already seen the safety and efficacy profile of two different mRNA vaccines and both look very good, so I think this bodes well for the chances of Arcturus also having great safety and efficacy results for his vaccine.
Again, it is a single dose, they are working on a lyophilized version that they plan to move on to the final stage studies, hopefully soon. This would help them to meet some of these cold storage requirements. This marks several of the boxes that Dr. Gellin mentioned. So, these were some companies that are in clinical trials that I think have very promising vaccines, if all goes well.