NIAID, BioCryst Exercise Development Option

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has exercised an option under its agreement with BioCryst Pharmaceuticals for the conduct of an IND program for the development of BCX4430 as a treatment for Marburg virus disease. BioCryst will receive an additional $2.5 million, which follows an initial award of $5.0 million in September 2013. The total funding could reach $22.0 million during the next five years.
 
The goal of the contract is to file INDs for intravenous and intramuscular BCX4430 for the treatment of Marburg virus disease and to advance the program through Phase I trials.
 
“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.”