Gritstone Bio, Inc., (GRTS) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. Its main focus is on the development of tumor-specific oncology-related immunotherapies. Two of the leading cancer-related products of the company include GRANITE and SLATE, both of which are under clinical trials. Gritstone is also proceeding with CORAL, a second-generation COVID-19 vaccine program. Moreover, the company has a global collaboration for the development of a therapeutic HIV vaccine.
The stock price of GRTS on December 9, 2021, during the regular trading session was $11.91 with a slight decline of 2.54%. While on December 10, the price of the GRTS stock, after a slight surge (3.44%) was $12.23.
Events and Happenings
On December 06, 2021, GRTSand The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced their agreement to start the development of a self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) vaccine. The vaccine is basically designed to tackle the Omicron COVID-19 variant. The variant first originated in South Africa was designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). Additionally, the CEPI-funded clinical trial of Gritstone’s Beta variant COVID-19 vaccine is due to begin shortly.
On November 29, 2021, GRTS announced that the SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes (TCEs) administered within its self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) COVID-19 vaccines are minimally affected by mutations found within the Omicron variant. So, it underpins the company’s potential to address emerging variants. The company’s CORAL program is a second-generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccine platform delivering a stabilized Spike protein and highly conserved TCEs, thus offering a broader immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. In this aspect, the company also published positive preclinical data in non-human primate models on November 10, 2021.
On November 23, 2021, GRTS reported that the nonqualified stock options are granted by the board of Directors to fourteen new employees. This step was taken to purchase an aggregate of 109,000 shares of the company’s common stock with an exercise price of $10.87, which is equal to the closing price of Gritstone’s common stock on the grant date of the awards i.e., November 16, 2021.
Key financial features
Some key financials for Q3 2021 ended September 30, 2021, reported by the company on November 3, 2021, are as follows
Revenue
Total revenue collected during the period of Q3 2021 was $2.6 million as opposed to the same quarter of 2020 when it was $0.93 million.
Earnings per share
Net loss per basic and diluted share for Q3 2020 was $0.69 against $0.36 for the same period of Q3 2021.
Total Current Assets
The total current assets for Q3 2021 were reported to be $218 million as compared to the same quarter of 2020 when the assets were $175 million.
Conclusion
Some of the most important collaborations for GRTS are in the pipeline. Also, the quarterly report showed satisfactory results. The analysts are much confident about the surge in the stock prices of the company.
