The Democratic Republic of the Congo may seem a long way from Burnaby, but one local company is bridging the gap with a new clinical trial.
Burnaby-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation has just dosed its first subject in a Phase 1 human clinical trial of TKM Ebola, an anti-Ebola viral therapeutic, according to a press release from the company.
The Ebola virus, which was first discovered near the Ebola River in Congo (formerly Zaire) in the 1970s, can cause viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks with a high case fatality rate - up to 90 per cent, according to the World Health Organization.
The therapeutic is being developed for the U.S. Department of Defense's joint project manager medical countermeasure systems under a US$140 million contract with the company, the press release stated.
"We are pleased to announce the first subject has been dosed in a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the safety of a new LNP formulation for our TKM-Ebola therapeutic. Building upon our compelling preclinical results, the Phase I data generated will guide our determination of the appropriate dose of this drug for the potential use as a medical countermeasure against this lethal hemorrhagic fever virus," Dr. Mark Murray, president and CEO of Tekmira, said in the release. "We remain on track to have data from this trial available in the second half of this year."
The Phase 1 clinical trial is a randomized, single-blind, placebo controlled study, the release stated, and involves single ascending doses for 16 subjects and multiple ascending doses for 12 subjects.
The study is designed to assess to the safety, tolerability and body's response to the therapeutic in healthy adults, the release added.
For more information on the company, go to www.tekmirapharm.com.
