HTBX - Why Heat Biologics Stock Surged Today
Shares of Heat Biologics (NASDAQ: HTBX) popped on Thursday after the biopharmaceutical company shared promising preclinical data for its COVID-19 vaccine. As of 1:30 p.m. EDT, Heat Biologics' stock was up 15% after rising as much as 23% earlier in the day.
Heat Biologics said data generated at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine showed a "robust T cell driven immune response" to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The biotech company said its experimental vaccine induced the expansion of CD8+ T cells that kill virus-infected cells, as well as CD4+ T cells that help to produce antibodies. Better still, the T cells released cytokines that boosted the anti-viral immune response, which Heat Biologics believes could play an important role in protecting against respiratory viruses.
"Specifically, we noted several important immune responses generated by the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 after a single injection, including SARS-CoV-2 specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in the lungs and airways," University of Miami Professor Natasa Strbo said in a press release.