Why Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, Moderna, and Novavax Are All Jumping Today

Shares of the vaccine developers Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: INO), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), and Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) are all up big yet again today. In pre-market action, Inovio's stock rose by as much as 16.5%, Moderna's shares spiked as high as 25%, and Novavax's equity gained a stately 26.9%. All three biotechs are jumping in response to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 illness across the globe. In addition, shares of the biotech heavyweight Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) rose by a healthy 7.2% on the heels of this emerging public health threat as well.

As vaccine developers, Inovio, Moderna, and Novavax might all come to play a critical role in the battle against this respiratory ailment. Inovio is in the midst of planning an early-stage trial for its anti-COVID-19 vaccine candidate, dubbed INO-4800.

Moderna recently announced that it has shipped the first batch of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, to U.S. governmental researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. An early-stage trial for the vaccine is slated to kick off this April.

Source Fool.com