Investing.com – In a falling market, several vaccine stocks stood out on Tuesday after the United States reported its first death from bird flu, focusing investors' attention on potential demand for a new drug against the virus.
The action Modern Inc (NASDAQ:) ended the day up more than 11%, while Novavax Inc (NASDAQ:) gained more than 10% and CureVac NV (NASDAQ:) more than 5%.
Modern, Pfizer (NYSE:) and a partnership between GSK and CureVac would work to develop vaccines incorporating mRNA technology. Moderna obtained a $176 million grant from the US government in July to develop this vaccine.
In Franceit's the action Novacyt (EPA:) which reacted the most, with a gain of more than 7% at close, after having gained up to +22% on its intraday peak at 0.84 euros.
Recall that Novacyt exploded on the rise during the covid-19 pandemic, as one of the main suppliers of screening tests. Novacyt thus marked a historic peak at 13.87 euros in October 2020.
It then spent 2021 and 2022 reversing the gains recorded in the face of the pandemic, before stabilizing.
Coming back to the reasons for the rise in shares of these stocks, it will be noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first death from bird flu on Monday, announcing that an elderly patient with underlying health problems underlying had died from the H5 strain of the virus in Louisiana.
The agency added that there have been 66 human cases of this strain in the United States since the beginning of last year. However, the CDC said the risk of the virus to the general public remains low, particularly because no transmission to humans has been recorded.
“Most importantly, no person-to-person transmission has been identified. As is the case in Louisiana, most H5 avian influenza virus infections are linked to animal-to-human exposure,” the agency said in a press release.
The agency added that while there are no concerning cases of active spread of the virus in wild birds, poultry or cows that would increase the risk to human health, people who are more exposed to Infected birds or other animals are at greater risk of infection.
This is therefore an issue to be closely monitored, although we are obviously still far from the risk of a new pandemic, and the stocks which ruled the most yesterday should definitely be part of the watchlist of well-advised investors. over the next few weeks.
