[Featured Stock] iGene, COVID-19 Vaccine Development Expectations... Moderna-Level Efficacy with Easy Storage

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] IGEN's stock price is on the rise. The news that the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based COVID-19 preventive vaccine (EG-COVID) under development has proven efficacy in preclinical efficacy evaluation appears to have influenced the stock price.

As of 2:12 PM on the 11th, IGEN is trading at 15,000 KRW, up 21.95% from the previous day.

IGEN announced on the 11th that it confirmed neutralizing antibody titers at a level similar to Moderna's preventive vaccine.

Neutralizing antibodies bind to the surface of virus particles and interfere with the binding of the virus to cell receptors. Through this, they neutralize the infectivity of the virus. The company stated that this is used as the most important indicator when evaluating the defense capability against the virus in vaccine development.

The neutralizing antibody efficacy evaluation test used the Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT). It is a standard test method to evaluate the neutralizing antibody ability of antibodies generated in the blood after vaccination. The test was conducted by requesting an analysis institution under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The neutralizing antibody titer (IC50 titer) that inhibits virus infection was found to be at a level similar to the preclinical research results of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

An IGEN official said, "It was confirmed that EG-COVID, a freeze-dried formulation, formed neutralizing antibodies at a level comparable to Moderna's liquid formulation COVID-19 preventive vaccine," adding, "This means that the disadvantage of ultra-low temperature cold storage of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines has been overcome, and the development of mRNA-based vaccines that can be stored refrigerated has become possible."

He continued, "The main core technology of mRNA vaccines is the mRNA delivery vehicle, and Moderna and Pfizer use lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the delivery vehicle," adding, "PEG is presumed to be the cause of systemic allergic reactions 'anaphylaxis' observed in some recipients of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines."

EG-COVID's delivery vehicle does not contain PEG. It uses cationic liposomes as the delivery vehicle. Safety was confirmed in the Australian clinical trial of the shingles preventive vaccine 'EG-HZ' using this. It is expected to have advantages in terms of safety compared to existing mRNA vaccines.

IGEN has completed domestic patent applications for the mRNA delivery vehicle and EG-COVID composition. Going forward, it plans to pursue patent applications in major countries and enter clinical trials in discussion with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.