Swine Flu Index Takes Top Spot

Multiple vaccine companies made news on Thursday, sending the sector higher.

Today it was announced that the National Institutes of Health will test Novavax’s (NVAX) VLP technology, which according to the company is able to produce H1/N1 targeted vaccines within weeks. Novavax said that it has already produced enough of the vaccine for animal testing, which the Centers for Disease Control plan to commence. Shares are skyrocketing today by over 50% on the news.

As a whole, the Swine Flu and Bird Flu Stocks Index is up by 7.2%. It is now beating the S&P 500 by 59.2% over the last month.

Generex Biotechnology (GNBT) also made news today, announcing that it will present at the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting, held Friday through Tuesday. The company specializes in drug delivery through mouth lining in treatment of metabolic diseases. Shares are up by 30% on the day.

Hemispherx Biopharma (HEB) is up by 14% today after Japanese researchers named its drug technology the “most promising mucosal adjuvant for influenza.”

Alpha Pro Tech (APT) also made an announcement today, stating that it will report record second-quarter sales. The company cited its ability to increase manufacturing to meet accelerated demand for its respirator masks amid the swine flu scare. Shares are up by 9%.

The multi-billion dollar players are mixed today. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) is up by 4% while GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is up fractionally. Gilead Sciences (GILD) is up by less than 1%.

Dynavax Technologies (DVAX) is giving back some of yesterday’s gains. The stock is an industry laggard today, falling by more than -12%.

As of this writing the Swine Flu and Bird Flu Stocks Index is the top performing tickerspy Index over the last month, gaining 52.8%.

Investors can follow the Swine Flu and Bird Flu Stocks Index and view related performance charts and metrics at tickerspy.com.

Tags: APT, DVAX, GILD, GNBT, GSK, HEB, NVAX, SNY