BioCryst receives $2.5M to advance development of BCX4430 for Marburg virus disease treatment

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) today announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has exercised an option to conduct the investigational new drug (IND) enabling program and to submit an IND. This option represents an additional $2.5 million to BioCryst in order to advance the development of BCX4430 as a treatment for Marburg virus disease. NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, granted an initial award of $5.0 million to BioCryst in September 2013. The total funding could be up to $22.0 million over five years and advance the program through Phase 1 trials, if all contract options are exercised.

"With these additional funds, BioCryst will rapidly initiate IND-enabling studies of intramuscular BCX4430," said Dr. William P. Sheridan, Chief Medical Officer at BioCryst. "This is an important next step in moving the development program forward to an IND submission, leading to an initial safety trial in healthy human volunteers."

The goals of this contract are to file IND applications for intravenous and intramuscular BCX4430 for the treatment of Marburg virus disease, and to conduct Phase 1 human clinical trials.