MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) -The Vancouver-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced in a statement that it is discussing the possible use of its TKM-Ebola vaccine in West Africa with the World Health Organization (WHO), government agencies and other NGOs.
“We are carefully evaluating options for use of our investigational drug within accepted clinical and regulatory protocols. This includes discussions with government agencies and NGO's, including the WHO, in various countries on the potential use of TKM-Ebola to treat Ebola virus infected individuals,” the company’s statement, released Wednesday, said.
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) eased safety restrictions on Tekmira’s Ebola treatment, allowing its use on humans infected with the deadly virus. The decision made company’s shares surge 45 percent in its biggest one-day gain in almost six years.
The current outbreak of the Ebola virus has infected 1,975 people, killing 1,069 of them, according to the WHO.
Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria have declared state of emergency.
There is no proven treatment or vaccine for Ebola, though several companies are currently working on it. Experimental anti-Ebola drugs have only been tested on animals and a handful of humans. On Wednesday, the WHO declared it ethical to use untested drugs to treat victims of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
