BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Shares Jump on Forecast for Positive Peramivir Study Results
Shares of drug developer BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped Wednesday after the company said it will present positive study data on its influenza treatment at a weekend conference.
The stock gained 90 cents, or 7.1 percent, to reach $12.16 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. Shares have traded between $8.20 and $23 over the last 52 weeks.
The treatment candidate, called peramivir, is in preclinical trials. The company said research at the University of Texas funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases showed the drug's effectiveness on avian flu in mice and ferrets. The data will be presented Saturday at the 46th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.
The announcement prompted to Caris & Co. analyst Douglas Chow to reaffirm his "Above Average" rating on the company. In a note to investors, he said he expects the data to be similar to a successful dose-response study in mice conducted in 2001.
The company said this is the first data to describe the activity of peramivir in an established animal model using the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu.
Also, independent research by the Ordway Research Institute will be presented at the conference indicating that peramivir is more potent versus several other treatments in seasonal influenza, strain H3N2.
More than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year in the United States because of flu complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 36,000 people die each year from the flu. According to the World Health Organization, 247 people worldwide have contracted the H5N1 avian flu and 144 have died.
Shares of drug developer BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped Wednesday after the company said it will present positive study data on its influenza treatment at a weekend conference.
The stock gained 90 cents, or 7.1 percent, to reach $12.16 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. Shares have traded between $8.20 and $23 over the last 52 weeks.
The treatment candidate, called peramivir, is in preclinical trials. The company said research at the University of Texas funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases showed the drug's effectiveness on avian flu in mice and ferrets. The data will be presented Saturday at the 46th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.
The announcement prompted to Caris & Co. analyst Douglas Chow to reaffirm his "Above Average" rating on the company. In a note to investors, he said he expects the data to be similar to a successful dose-response study in mice conducted in 2001.
The company said this is the first data to describe the activity of peramivir in an established animal model using the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu.
Also, independent research by the Ordway Research Institute will be presented at the conference indicating that peramivir is more potent versus several other treatments in seasonal influenza, strain H3N2.
More than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year in the United States because of flu complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 36,000 people die each year from the flu. According to the World Health Organization, 247 people worldwide have contracted the H5N1 avian flu and 144 have died.
posted by doublezero at
11:04 AM
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