It’s not every day a stock like that of biotech firm Ocean Biomedical (NASDAQ:OCEA) jumps nearly 49% in a trading session, but this is that day. And the cause of that gain was both out of nowhere and shockingly simple — a new U.S. patent.
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What kind of patent can make a stock price increase almost half over what it was at closing yesterday? A patent related to a “whole new class” of malaria therapeutics. Apparently, its co-founder and current board member Jonathan Kurtis only recently got a “notice of allowance” about said patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent in question, Kurtis noted, covers “inducing parasite cell death via targeting PfGARP,” a process that Kurtis called “a novel approach that has potential to launch a whole new class of anti-malarials.”
Ocean Biomedical’s chairman and co-founder, Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria, noted that the new treatment comes at an excellent time. With currently-available antimalarials beginning to “fade,” Kathuria notes, being able to bring in an option that’s not only a treatment but also a preventative measure could be a major new treatment for a wide range of use cases. Not only is there a military application, but there are also commercial applications for “short-term exposure areas,” among others.
Meanwhile, hedge funds are looking for some good to come out of this impressive patent. Hedge funds added 43,400 shares to their Ocean Biomedical holdings last quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter of increased investment in the company. Their confidence level is currently neutral but leaning toward positive.
