Prognosis
Hedge Fund-Pick Arcturus Gambles on a One-Shot Covid Vaccine
- Phase 1 data from the biotech expected in fourth quarter
- CEO Joseph Payne says he has no intention to sell ‘any shares’
This article is for subscribers only.
Two-and-a-half years ago Joseph Payne was ousted from Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc., the biotech company he helped found, by what he calls a “dysfunctional board.” Four months later he was back at the helm and the now $1.2 billion firm is racing to push out a Covid-19 vaccine alongside the world’s leading contenders.
The contentious transfer of power came after the previously private Arcturus gained access to the public markets in a reverse merger with Alcobra, a struggling biotech. Today, Arcturus’s goal is to develop a potent low-dose one-shot messenger RNA Covid-19 inoculation.