Inovio Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: INO) stock rose by more than 18.5% as of 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday after the company's Q2 earnings results broke the news of its plans to restructure its operations to conserve cash. The biotech will lay off 18% of its full-time employees while additionally reducing its contractor head count by a massive 86%. 

Management expects the cuts to lower its operating costs by around 30%. Therefore, it should have enough cash to keep the lights on through Q3 2024. Inovio also announced the appointment of a new chief medical officer, Dr. Michael Sumner, which might be another contributing factor to the gain of its stock today. 

Inovio doesn't currently have any medicines approved for sale, and its revenue in Q2 was negligible at less than $1 million. The closest program to commercialization is its coronavirus vaccine, which is in phase 3 trials, though it also has a few other early and mid-stage infectious disease programs in the works, like its Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) vaccine in phase 2 trials.

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Source Fool.com