Early Tests Bode Well for Bioterrorism Treatment
Kirill__M/Shutterstock.com
A potential drug for use against Marburg virus appeared safe for humans in initial tests.
A potential drug for use against Marburg virus has been shown in initial testing to be safe for humans, the Boston Business Journal reported.
Pharmaceutical firm Sarepta Therapeutics announced that when the treatment was given in various dosage amounts over two weeks to 40 volunteers in a Phase 1 study, the drug was discerned to be generally safe, even at the largest dosage level.
Marburg virus is a hemorrhagic fever that can cause death in as many as nine out of 10 infected people. Given its lethality, the virus is a leading biological-terrorism concern.
Sarepta Therapeutics is developing its Marburg drug under a Defense Department contract. Additional work on the medication -- known as AVI-7288 -- depends on Pentagon approval.