In an update for investors on Monday, Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ: ARCT) reported results of early-stage clinical trials for their coronavirus candidate vaccine. The company also said that the Singapore Health Sciences Authority has granted approval to start a phase 2 study of that candidate, ARCT-021.
Although the results indicate that the single dose vaccine is effective in blocking the coronavirus, it produces less neutralizing antibodies than the vaccine made by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX), and the vaccine Modern (NASDAQ: MRNA). In addition, Pfizer / BioNTech’s BNT-162b2 and Moderna’s mRNA-1273 have been approved by the United States and European Union health regulators for emergency use.
Like BNT-162b2 and mRNA-1273, the Arcturus vaccine candidate uses messenger RNA to instruct cells in the body to fight the coronavirus.
Image source: Getty Images.
Still, in his press release, Arcturus emphasized the successes of ARCT-021 in the trials.
“The results of the Phase 1/2 study, together with recently generated preclinical data, indicate that ARCT-021 leads to a potent immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and demonstrates a differentiated biological profile by which the immune response increases in the weeks after vaccination, “said Ooi Eng Eong, a member of the vaccine platform’s scientific advisory board, according to the company.
The company expects to collect phase 2 data early next year; it didn’t get more specific.
Arcturus was considered by many to be an underdog in the race to launch a coronavirus vaccine on the market. The results of ARCT-021 in relation to its rivals Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna are disappointing and only exacerbate this status.
As a result, the company’s shares plummeted on Tuesday: a fall of almost 55% on the day, far exceeding the modest drop in S&P 500 index.