Charlotte Observer – by John Murawski
An experimental drug made by Durham drug developer Chimerix is being administered in Texas to a Liberian man infected with the Ebola virus.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas on Monday confirmed that Thomas Duncan is receiving the treatment.
“Mr. Duncan remains in critical condition. His condition is stable,” the hospital’s statement said. “He is now receiving an investigational medication, brincidofovir, for Ebola Virus Disease.”
Brincidofovir is made by Chimerix and is being tested for a variety of potent viruses.
Chimerix announced earlier Monday that it would be able to give the drug to Ebola patients as requested by treating physicians. The emergency request was granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Investigational New Drug Applications branch.
Emergency requests are granted for patients with life-threatening conditions for which there are no treatment options. Such emergency approvals allow for the release promising medicines that are still under safety review and not available to the public.
There is no approved treatment for the Ebola virus.
Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola last Tuesday after arriving in Dallas. He had arrived from Liberia, where he had been in contact with someone who died from the virus.
Additionally, Chimerix is working with the FDA to finalize details on a clinical trial to administer brincidofovir to Ebola patients. The study will assess the safety, tolerability and efficacy of brincidofovir.
The company’s potent antiviral is being tested on patients who are ill with adenovirus and cytomegalovirus, two potent viruses that can be lethal in cancer patients and others with compromised immune systems.
It is also being studied as a potential antidote to a smallpox outbreak spread accidentally or deliberately by bioterrorists through federal funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
Ebola is a deadly viral infection that is spread by coming in contact with the fluids of an infected person. According to the Centers for Disease control more than 3,400 people have died in the current outbreak, which world health officials are trying to keep contained in western Africa.
More than 1,000 people have taken brincidofovir in past tests and Chimerix is in the process of testing it on several hundred more for non-Ebola viruses.
The drug recently proved effective against Ebola in test tube experiments at the Viral Special Pathogens Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health.
Chimerix is also testing brincidofovir’s effectiveness against Ebola on laboratory animals.
The company’s shares spiked this morning on the news. At mid-morning, it was priced at $32.76, up $2.70 a share. It trades as CMRX.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/10/06/5224009/fda-gives-durham-drug-developer.html#.VDL6hLu8_hg.email#storylink=cpy
“The company’s potent antiviral is being tested on patients who are ill with adenovirus and cytomegalovirus, two potent viruses that can be lethal in cancer patients and others with compromised immune systems.
It is also being studied as a potential antidote to a smallpox outbreak spread accidentally or deliberately by bioterrorists through federal funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.”
Thought this ‘guy’ was dead already.
Maybe just his strawman died.