Stock Alert: Arcturus Therapeutics Tanks Over 50%

(RTTNews) - Shares of Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (ARCT) more than halved on Tuesday morning despite the clinical stage company announcing that it received approval to start phase 2 study for its Covid vaccine candidate.

ARCT is currently trading at $45.24, down $47.18 or 51.05%, on the Nasdaq.

The company said it received approval from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority to proceed with a Phase 2 clinical study of its vaccine candidate ARCT-021.

The approval is based on Phase 1/2 trial data that showed the vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies after one dose although at lower levels than other vaccine candidates.

Of the 106 participants in the Phase 1/2 trial, 78 received ARCT-021; 28 received placebo. 44 subjects have received ARCT-021 at doses selected for Phase 2 (27 young adults and 17 older adults). Two groups of 34 and 10 participants have each received a single administration of 5 µg and 7.5 µg, respectively, and a group of 24 participants has received a prime-boost regimen.

The phase 2 study will evaluate both single dose and prime-boost regimens in up to 600 participants. The company expects to release interim Phase 2 data in early 2021 and targets global Phase 3 study to star in second quarter next year.