The FDA has granted emergency approval for the use of an experimental antiviral drug for patients with Ebola. Permission to use the drug, brincidofovir, was requested by physicians. Brincidofovir is an oral antiviral drug developed by Chimerix and currently in Phase 3 testing for other viruses, such as one that may infect patients having bone marrow transplants. This particular drug was given to Ebola patients in Dallas and Nebraska, and joins other experimental treatments and vaccines being developed and used in the fight against Ebola.
Brincidofovir was used earlier this year to treat a seven-year-old boy who acquired an adenovirus infection after a bone marrow transplant. After initially denying a compassionate use request, Chimerix opened a clinical trial for patients like the boy, who was the first patient enrolled in the study.
Chimerix FAQs on the Potential Use of Brincidofovir in the Ebola Outbreak
