Why iBio Stock Is Soaring Today

Shares of iBio (NYSEMKT: IBIO) were up by 6.8% as of 11:38 a.m. EDT after climbing by as much as 19.5% earlier today, following the company's announcement that it has selected its leading COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

iBio had been working on two experimental vaccines, IBIO-200 and IBIO-201. Both performed well in pre-clinical studies, producing antibodies for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Antibodies are proteins that defend healthy cells from pathogens.

But the biotech found that IBIO-201 "induced the production of more anti-spike neutralizing antibodies than IBIO-200 in immunized mice." That is why the company chose IBIO-201 as its leading candidate. The company plans on advancing it to toxicology studies before it reaches the clinical-trial stage. But iBio isn't giving up on IBIO-200; it will continue pre-clinical development for this experimental vaccine.

Source Fool.com