Benzinga | Mar 19, 2021 07:39AM EDT

ImmunityBio's COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Manufactured In South Africa: Bloomberg

ImmunityBio Inc (NASDAQ: IBRX) says it will make its first COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa by The Biovac Institute, a partly state-owned company, once regulators approve it, reports Bloomberg.

* Production of ImmunityBio's vaccine in South Africa will bolster its role as the only country in Africa to produce the shots. Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. will start making Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) single-shot doses in the second quarter of this year at a facility in Gqeberha.

* ImmunityBio's vaccine is in Phase 1 trials and uses a cold germ, known as adenovirus 5, to act against the coronavirus.

* Its so-called hAd5 T-cell kills infected cells, and in addition to the spike proteins found on the coronavirus, the shot targets the nucleocapsid protein, which is less prone to mutations.

* Earlier this week, the company met the safety requirements for the first 12 participants in its Phase 1b COVID-19 vaccine trials in sublingual and oral formulations.

* The independent Safety Review Committee recommended the study continue with no modifications to the trial design. Enrollment will complete in the second quarter.

* Price Action: IBRX shares closed 4.4% lower at $34.36 on Thursday.