社区

New analyses suggest Adagio Therapeutics' Covid antibody could still tackle the omicron variant — and ADGI stock soared on Thursday.

Two studies from renowned laboratories in the U.S. and France suggest Adagio's experimental antibody-based drug, ADG20, fights omicron-induced Covid, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee wrote in a report to clients. In response, ADGI stock rocketed 106% near 13.10.

The news is a 180-degree turn from earlier this week when shares plummeted after Adagio said its antibody experienced a huge drop in effectiveness against omicron. Now, Yee says, it appears the Adagio drug is lining up with Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline. Also this week, the duo said their antibody could effectively target omicron.

"So, maybe Adagio (drug ADG20) is not as bad as previously thought and is in the ballpark of GlaxoSmithKline/Vir which means it has utility and (effectiveness) and has a real role," Yee said.

ADGI Stock Continues Its Wild Ride

Antibody drugs have taken a wild ride on the omicron train.

Vaccines prompt the body to generate virus-blocking antibodies. Antibody-based treatments, on the other hand, simply infuse or inject a person with the virus blockers.

But omicron contains numerous mutations to its spike protein, so antibodies find it harder to recognize. Adagio previously said none of omicron's mutations would hurt the effectiveness of its drug. But, on Tuesday, ADGI stock crashed after the company said that theory didn't pan out in further testing.

"We said this was a significant surprise because all data suggested their drug should be potent against omicron and even Adagio management said all along (that) all their prior work suggests the conserved binding region and other factors should lead it to be a great antibody against omicron and future variants," Yee said.

The news on Thursday resulted in another flip for ADGI stock, however.

The laboratories found omicron leads to a 20-40 times reduction in the effectiveness of ADG20 against omicron. That's better than the 300-fold drop Adagio estimated on Tuesday, Yee said. He has a 46 price target on ADGI stock.

Other Antibodies Target Omicron

Similarly, on Thursday, AstraZeneca said its antibody is less effective against omicron than it is against the original strain. But that drug, dubbed Evusheld, can still target omicron, AstraZeneca said.

AstraZeneca stock rose 1.87% near 56.70 in midday trading on the stock market today. Vir stock continued a six-day running spree, jumping 8.5% near 56. On Wednesday, Vir stock broke out of a cup-with-handle base with a buy point at 52.95, according to MarketSmith.com.

Meanwhile, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals stock crept down 3.5% near 635. The company said its currently authorized antibody regimen loses effectiveness against omicron. But, Regeneron said, its next-generation antibodies can target omicron and delta. Those antibodies don't have authorization, however.

It's important to note that ADGI stock is lowly rated across IBD Digital measures. Shares have a rock-bottom Relative Strength Rating of 1, putting its 12-month performance in the bottom 1% of all stocks.