{"id":122347,"date":"2021-04-23T13:44:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T13:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=122347"},"modified":"2021-04-23T13:44:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T13:44:18","slug":"u-s-govt-stops-funding-for-late-stage-study-of-inovios-covid-19-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/u-s-govt-stops-funding-for-late-stage-study-of-inovios-covid-19-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. govt stops funding for late-stage study of Inovio's COVID-19 vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) -Inovio Pharmaceuticals said on Friday the U.S. government had stopped funding for a late-stage study testing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, due to the increasing availability of authorized shots in the country.<\/p> Shares of the drug developer fell 31% to $6.38 before the bell.<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision is not a reflection of the awardee or product, rather a fast-moving environment associated with the former Operation Warp Speed on decisions related to future products,\u201d the U.S. Department of Defense told Inovio, according to a company statement.<\/p>\n The department will continue to fund an ongoing mid-stage study testing its vaccine candidate INO-4800, Inovio said.<\/p>\n The U.S. government last year launched the Operation Warp Speed program to provide funding for companies developing drugs and vaccines to combat the coronavirus.<\/p>\n Since then, the United States has authorized the use of three vaccines from Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc and Johnson & Johnson.<\/p>\n Rival Novavax also has a vaccine candidate in a late-stage of clinical development and expects U.S. authorization to come as early as May after soon-to-be released data from its U.S. vaccine trial are reviewed by regulators.<\/p>\n Inovio lagged behind rivals in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September put a portion of the IN0-4800 study on hold, as it sought more information on the device used to inject the vaccine.<\/p>\n The company said it was planning for a late-stage global study mostly outside the United States based on the upcoming results from the mid-stage trial.<\/p>\n Inovio added that it would continue to test its other vaccine candidate, INO-4802, targeting variants of the coronavirus.<\/p>\n