(Reuters) – Vaxcyte’s shares surged more than 30% on Tuesday after the vaccine developer said its experimental pneumococcal vaccine showed promising results in an early-stage study, with a safety profile similar to rival Pfizer’s shot.
Vaxcyte said some doses of vaccine VAX-31 showed immune responses that exceeded expectations for 20 serotypes, or variations of the pneumococcal bacteria, which it had in common with Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 vaccine.
Pneumococcal disease is a serious bacterial infection caused by bacteria called streptococcus pneumoniae. It spreads through direct contact with respiratory secretions such as saliva and mucus.
Vaxcyte’s stock was up 33.8% at $108.05 in premarket trading on Tuesday. The shares have risen 28.6% so far this year ahead of the data, giving the company a market capitalization of about $9 billion.
The company, which does not have any approved product on the market, was testing the vaccine in 1,015 healthy adults aged 50 and above to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease.
In the study, all doses of VAX-31 showed a safety profile similar to Prevnar 20 through the full six-month evaluation period, Vaxcyte said.
(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)