BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX)
Investors in BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. had a good day on Thursday, after the company announced that it has won a contract worth $35 million from the CDC to supply up to 50,000 Rapivab doses over a period of five years.
Rapivab is developed and marketed by the North Carolina-based biotechnology firm for use on acute flu patients aged two years and above. The patients ought to show symptoms of the disease for a period of not less than two days in order to use the medication.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to place the life-saving drugs in the Strategic National Stockpile to be used in times of emergencies. Shares of the company soared 5.27% to close the regular session at $7.99 on Wednesday, Sept. 5.
Out of a total float of 109,380,000 shares, close to 1,110,000 shares were traded on 5,918 trades yesterday, compared with the average daily trading volume of 806,368 shares. Industry analysts are optimistic that the stock could turn into more strength down the road following its recent performance.
The stock has shot up 62.7% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has rallied 8.0%.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals CEO Comments
“We appreciate the CDC acknowledging the value of RAPIVAB to patients and our national security. Peramivir continues to be a source of non-dilutive capital for BioCryst and we will use these additional resources to support advancement of our exciting pipeline,” commented Jon Stonehouse, Chief Executive Officer of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. Company Profile
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a biotechnology company that is engaged in the design, optimization, and development of small molecule drugs that block key enzymes involved in the pathogenesis of diseases.
The company markets peramivir, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor, which is approved for uncomplicated seasonal and acute influenza in the United States and Canada under the name RAPIVAB, in Japan and Taiwan as RAPIACTA, and in Korea as PERAMIFLU. It also markets Mundesine, an oral purine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitor to treat cancer in Japan.
It also develops BCX7353 and second generation kallikrein inhibitors, which are oral serine protease inhibitors targeting plasma kallikrein for hereditary angioedema.
In addition, the company develops BCX9250 and BCX9499, which are activin receptor-like kinase-2 inhibitors for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive; and Galidesivir, a RNA dependent-RNA polymerase inhibitor to treat RNA viruses.
The company has collaborations and in-license relationships with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Seqirus UK Limited; Shionogi & Co., Ltd.; Green Cross Corporation; Mundipharma International Holdings Limited; and The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. competes with GlaxoSmithKline PLC, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, FUJIFIM Corporation, and Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. –YahooFinance
