BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that an initial study of its potential Ebola treatment showed positive results.
The RTP-based firm tested its antiviral BCX4430 compound in rhesus macaques infected with Ebola at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. The primates received a placebo, a smaller dose of BCX4430 or a larger dose of the drug twice daily for two weeks.
Officials said none of the animals that received the placebo survived but that 10 of the 12 that received BCX4430 survived. The two that died received the smaller dose. Tests showed a dramatic reduction in the concentration of the virus in the surviving animals’ bloodstream.
“These results provide important evidence of BCX4430’s potential as a treatment for Ebola virus disease,” Dr. William Sheridan, chief medical officer at BioCryst, said in a statement. “We look forward to completing the ongoing Phase 1 clinical safety trial of BCX4430 in healthy volunteers and working with our U.S. government partners in continuing the nonclinical and clinical development of this potential antiviral medical countermeasure.”
No effective treatment for Ebola exists.
BioCryst (Nasdaq: BCRX) has already received more than $6 million in federal funds this year for research and development of the drug. The funding is part of a contract worth up to $24.4 million signed between the government and BioCryst in September 2013.
The company is receiving funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
