Vaxart Inc (NASDAQ:VXRT) shares are trading higher in Monday's after-hours session after the company provided business and cash runway updates.

What Happened: Vaxart, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a range of oral recombinant vaccines, announced Monday that proceeds from a recent offering combined with reimbursements under its Project NextGen award are expected to extend the company's cash runway into 2026.

"The past week was especially important for Vaxart, because the combination of receiving one of the largest Project NextGen awards from BARDA and closing our $40 million financing from leading institutional investors significantly strengthened the Company," said Steven Lo, CEO of Vaxart.

"These notable achievements enable us to pursue our goal of creating transformative oral pill vaccine candidates representing multibillion-dollar market opportunities and offering the world a better way to protect against disease."

Vaxart said it plans to use funds from the award to conduct a 10,000-subject Phase 2b comparative study evaluating its oral pill COVID-19 vaccine candidate against an FDA-approved mRNA vaccine comparator. Vaxart noted it could initiate enrollment in the trial as early as the summer of 2024.

Vaxart also announced that it remains on track to receive feedback from the FDA in mid-2024 on potential correlates of protection for norovirus. The company said it will then determine the best way to progress its norovirus program.

Vaxart noted it continues to develop earlier-stage programs, including seasonal influenza and human papillomavirus. The company said it has also begun efforts on avian flu in light of the recent bird flu outbreaks.

VXRT Price Action: At publication Monday, Vaxart shares were up 3.67% at 54 cents in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.