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Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO): Ignore Citron and Andrew Left

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO): Ignore Citron and Andrew Left
Written by
Alex Carlson
Published on
March 12, 2020
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Citron Research and Andrew Left are out with another hit piece. This time it's Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:INO).[embed]https://twitter.com/CitronResearch/status/1237025059056709632[/embed]The problem with this is that anyone that has followed INO for some time knows its computer platform can convert a viral DNA sequence to a reliable vaccine formulation in 3 hrs. NASDAQ:INO even came out and said so itself to clarify for those that forgot.[embed]https://twitter.com/InovioPharma/status/1237067248835182592[/embed]The fact remains that the coronavirus is spreading. Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were just diagnosed. New Rochelle, New York is on lockdown. NBA games have been suspended after a player tested positive. A vaccine is desperately needed. While we can't say for certain that NASDAQ:INO will be the first to come to market with a vaccine, it has as good, if not better, chance than other coronavirus stocks.

About NASDAQ:INO

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc(NASDAQ: INO) partnered with Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology Co. to advance the development of INO-4800 which is their version of the vaccine to target COVID-19. Through their partner they hope to quickly advance the vaccine through Chinese clinical trials. They are also developing a vaccine to treat the MERS strain of coronavirus. The company is also developing a phase 3 candidate for cervical HSIL using its compound VGX-3100.What's most exciting about NASDAQ:INO is who the company has worked with. It's the who's who in the vaccine world. Partners and collaborators include ApolloBio Corporation, AstraZeneca, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, GeneOne Life Science, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC), National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Regeneron, Roche/Genentech, University of Pennsylvania, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and The Wistar Institute.

Left's Modus Operandi

For anyone that has followed Andrew Left for any period of time knows that his agenda is short and distort. He can move markets. He takes his short position, puts out the hit piece, and then covers. It's a great gig if you can do it, but it should be illegal. Too many innocent shareholders are on the losing end, while Left profits.

NASDAQ:INO $9 million grant

We cant stress enough how significant the $9 million grant NASDAQ:INO received in January. This initial CEPI funding will support Inovio's preclinical and clinical development through Phase 1 human testing of INO-4800, its new coronavirus vaccine matched to the outbreak strain. Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio's President & CEO said:

"We're extremely honored to expand our partnership with CEPI to tackle this new threat to global public health. Our DNA medicine platform represents the best modern day approach to combatting emerging pandemics. We have already demonstrated positive clinical outcomes with our vaccine against MERS-CoV, another coronavirus. Importantly, following the Zika viral infection outbreak, Inovio and our partners developed a vaccine that went from bench to human testing in just seven months – the fastest vaccine development on record in recent decades. We believe we can further improve upon this accelerated timeline to meet the current challenge of the emerging Chinese coronavirus 2019-nCoV."

CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations launched in Davos in 2017 to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics. CEPI has received multi-year funding from Norway, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Wellcome. CEPI has also received single-year investments from the government of Belgium and the United Kingdom. CEPI has reached over US$ 750 million of its $1 billion funding target.Piper Sandler’s Christopher Raymond notes that the grant "underscores the importance of Inovio's science in the global effort to counter pandemics." The analyst also stresses, though, that an approval and commercial order is "likely years out." Raymond added, "Having seen this movie play out before with other pandemics, we think it’s prudent to take a step back to understand the impact."Maxim's Jason McCarthy also notes Inovio’s suitability for developing the vaccine. The analyst said, “More details are emerging, but the positive news is that since they are similar to SARS and MERS (same family) and much research has been done, there is a breadth of knowledge from which companies like Inovio can start/continue developing a potential vaccine.”

Bill Gates' seal of approval

The biggest endorsement a tiny biotech can get is from Bill Gates. NASDAQ:INO has just received a new $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the testing and scale up of CELLECTRA® 3PSP proprietary smart device for the intradermal delivery of INO-4800, a DNA vaccine for COVID-19. Obviously, Bill Gates isn't paying any attention to Andrew Left and investors shouldn't as well. Who would you rather invest alongside of - Bill Gates or Andrew Left? We'll take Bill Gates any day. He can buy and sell Andrew Left thousands of times over and over.

Bottom Line

Until the coronavirus pandemic is over, investors will continue to pile into coronavirus stocks. One of the best plays right now for investors is NASDAQ:INO. Dips are to be bought as we still haven't witnessed peak coronavirus panic. Look for new highs in NASDAQ:INO. Good luck to all!We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on NASDAQ:INO, sign up today!Disclosure: We have NO position in NASDAQ:INO and have NOT been compensated for this article. We may or may not initiate a LONG position after 72 hours of publication.Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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