iBio rises 16% as it says COVID vaccine candidate may be effective against Omicron

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• iBio (IBIO +14.7%) says that its next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, IBIO-202, may be effective against the Omicron variant.
• "Omicron’s mutations do not occur in the region selected for our IBIO-202 [nucleocapsid] protein subunit vaccine candidate, as was the case with previous variants," CEO Tom Isett said in a statement.
• The company says that research has indicated that the nucleocapsid protein appears to be significantly more effective than the spike protein in stimulating antibody-dependent natural killer cell activation.
• iBio submitted a pre-IND application for IBIO-202 with the FDA in September and a response is expected by the end of January 2022.