Inovio stock rallies after company gets Gates Foundation grant to test device for coronavirus vaccine

Inovio stock rallies after company gets Gates Foundation grant to test device for coronavirus vaccine

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it has received a $5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the testing of a proprietary smart device for intradermal delivery of a vaccine to treat the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.. The company is aiming to advance to human clinical trials in April and has secured up to $9 million in funding from Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, a global organization based in Oslo.. Inovio shares surged 17% on the news in a deeply negative market.. Inovio stock has been on a tear and rallies every time the company posts a press release about plans to combat the coronavirus.. The company has 15 DNA medicine clinical programs in development but has no approved products.. The stock is one of a group of small biotechs that have seen their shares soar after issuing releases that say they are developing tests or vaccines or other types of treatment for the virus.. Some have taken advantage of the movement in their share price to do opportunistic share offerings .. which in 2013 developed a vaccine for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), another coronavirus, filed a shelf registration in