The developer of a vaccine for Covid-19 saw its share price nearly triple within hours of an initial public offering Friday, the latest example of how the coronavirus crisis has dramatically increased investor demand for biotech stocks.
CureVac, headquartered in Germany, raised about $213 million by pricing shares at $16 each. The company’s share price immediately rose to $44, boosting its valuation to roughly $8 billion. CureVac now trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol “CVAC.”
Once a fairly obscure player in the biotech universe, CureVac has made global headlines this year thanks to CVnCoV, a potential vaccine against the virus that causes Covid-19. The company’s vaccine is in Phase 1 development with early data expected in September or October. CureVac intends to start a pivotal, 20,000-volunteer study in the fourth quarter of this year.
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