Zika virus spreads business to these companies
The explosive spread of the Zika virus is sweeping up the shares of companies positioned to be affected.
There's no treatment for the virus - which is spreading at a dangerous clip in parts of the world. But shares of companies working on treatments to the condition are seeing shares power higher. Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO), a biotech focused on treatments for infectious diseases, is up 59 cents, or 11%, to $5.97. The company, based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., agreed in January to work with Korea's GeneOne Life Science on a treatment.
Shares of Intrexon (XON) are up $2.95, or 11.2%, to $29.28 - as it's another company working on treatments. The Germantown, Md.-based biotech company bought a company called Oxitec to help it develop treatments for a variety of sectors including zika and dengue, according to Samuel Broder, Intrexon's senior president of health at a Jan. 13 JP Morgan presentation. "Several public health organizations have issued alerts, and we believe we have a profound answer to this problem. Zika has already entered the United States. There are cases. It is my belief that we had not seen the last of zika and that this will have a significant effect on what we had to deal with in the future," he said.
Members of the World Health Organization warned Thursday the virus was "spreading explosively" in the Americas and said they are considering an emergency meeting as soon as next week to discuss a gameplan. Zika is a virus that has serious health effects, especially on pregnant women and their infants, who can be born with improperly shaped heads.
There could be other companies affected Zika in indirect ways. Gary Rollins, CEO ofRollins (ROL) a pest control business, mentioned zika in the Jan. 27 conference call. The company anticipates more business as consumers and businesses get more concerned about the health dangers of disease carried by mosquitoes. "Based on our experience with the West Nile outbreak, publicity concerning mosquito risk will escalate," Rollins said. Shares of Rollins are up 29 cents, or 1.1%, to $26.43.
