Vaccine stocks rose sharply in morning trading, with Vir technology rising over 15% and Novavax rising over 4%.Vir Biotechnology (VIR) unveiled late Tuesday new preclinical data that demonstrates the impact of the "significant antigenic shift" of the new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant on neutralizing activity of monoclonal antibodies.
The company said a "significant" reduction in plasma neutralizing activity was observed against omicron in sera from vaccinated and convalescent individuals.