APDN Provides Update On Coronavirus Preclinical Vaccines, Stock Spikes

(RTTNews) - Applied DNA Sciences Inc. (APDN), which recently entered into a Joint Development Agreement with Takis Biotech to produce a vaccine against COVID-19, has provided an update on the program. As of this writing, the shares are up over 40 percent at $5.34.

As part of the collaboration, 4 DNA vaccine candidates will be produced for preclinical animal testing via Applied DNA Sciences' proprietary PCR-based DNA manufacturing systems.

The 4 preclinical vaccine candidates will be delivered to Applied DNA by Takis this month. Applied DNA expects to immediately scale up PCR-based production of each vaccine candidate and ship them back to Takis, which will conduct preclinical testing of the vaccines in animals.

The two companies have designed the 4 preclinical vaccines on the basis of the "Spike" protein structure - the proteins responsible for the "crown" on the coronavirus surface.