Sorrento Therapeutics stakes skyrockets 244% after coronavirus antibody claims

Sorrento Therapeutics skyrocketed as much as 244% on Friday after the company said an antibody it was developing showed “100% inhibition” of the coronavirus in preclinical studies.

The small biotechnology company said it planned to “generate an antibody cocktail product that would act as a ‘protective shield’ against SARS-CoV-2,” the official name of the novel coronavirus.

Sorrento said it would ask regulators for “priority evaluation and accelerated review” of its antibody candidate. The company added that it hoped to receive government support and partner with a pharmaceutical company to scale up manufacturing of its candidate if clinical studies find it to be successful.