The outbreak of the deadly and highly infectious Ebola disease in Africa has already claimed multiple lives. According to media reports many health workers including doctors and nurses have also fallen a prey to the worst outbreak of the disease.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease first surfaced in 1976. Among other places, it affected the Yambuku village situated close to the river Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). The disease (Ebola-Zaire) has been named after the river.
What is Ebola?
The viral disease is characterized by symptoms like high fever and internal bleeding, and often proves to be fatal. According to WHO, outbreaks of the Ebola virus disease primarily takes place in remote Central and West African villages located near tropical rainforests. Wild animals are responsible for transmitting the virus to humans. Human-to-human transmission then results in the spread of Ebola in the entire population.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the different sub types of Ebola (Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Reston, Ebola-Ivory Coast and Ebola-Bundibugyo or Ebola-Uganda) are named after the places in which they were discovered. The most contagious and infectious disease in the Ebola family is Ebola-Zaire, the strain of which is present in the Ebola-Uganda and Ebola-Sudan subtypes.
Ebola Outbreak Alerts FDA
With the severity of the outbreak increasing each passing day, the FDA declared late last week that it will collaborate with companies to develop treatments to combat the deadly virus. There is currently no approved treatment for the Ebola virus. According to Reuters, the FDA is not averse to proposals that aim to offer treatments to combat Ebola under special emergency new drug applications in the event of the therapy having a favorable benefit-risk profile.
A Canadian company, Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TKMR), one of the few companies developing treatments for Ebola, gained significantly following the FDA announcement.
We remind investors that the U.S. regulatory body had placed Tekmira’s phase I study (TKM-Ebola) on clinical hold last month due to safety concerns. The company had then expected the matter to be resolved by year-end 2014 following the submission of a complete response. TKM-Ebola was being developed by Tekmira under a contract worth $140 million with the U.S. Department of Defense.
However, the FDA statement rekindled hopes of an earlier resolution and subsequent progress (including submission of a new study proposal) on the matter, as the world desperately awaits a treatment to curb Ebola.
Most of the gains at Tekmira were nonetheless eaten away following a CNN report that an Ebola candidate developed by rival Mapp Biopharmaceutical was being used to treat two Americans who had contracted the virus in West Africa.
We remind investors that in Mar 2014, the FDA had granted a Fast Track status to TKM-Ebola. With fears that the Ebola outbreak might gain the magnitude of a pandemic, pressures have been mounting on the FDA to expedite the approval of a drug to combat Ebola. In such a scenario, it is all but natural that companies like Tekmira and Mapp will invite plenty of attraction. We believe investors will remain glued on Ebola related updates at Tekmira.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX) is another company which has a candidate BCX4430 in early stage development to combat a wide array of viruses including Ebola.
Tekmira carries a Zacks Rank # 3 (Hold). Better ranked healthcare stocks include Actelion (ALIOF) and Curis (CRIS). Both stocks sport a Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy).
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