Business Standard

Twitter accounts hyped US firm seeking trials for India-made Covid vaccine

Ocugen sought FDA approval for Covaxin in October, then a seeming coordinated social media effort lifted its stock.

Twitter
Premium

Photo: Shutterstock

Jeff Stone | Bloomberg News
A network of Twitter accounts pushed messages to boost the share price of a biotech company as it sought approval to run a clinical trial of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to research provided to Bloomberg News. 

The tweets promoted stock for Ocugen Inc., which is based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, at rates well above market value, according to research by Alethea Group, a startup that tracks disinformation. The company’s share price nearly doubled in a little more than a week.

The findings suggest a coordinated social media effort to sway interest in an otherwise little known medical technology company, according to

What you get on BS Premium?

  • Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
  • Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
  • Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
  • Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
  • Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.
VIEW ALL FAQs

Need More Information - write to us at assist@bsmail.in