BioCryst Is Testing Galidesivir for COVID-19
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX) has started a clinical trial to test its antiviral medication galidesivir in patients with COVID-19. The U.S. government's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the clinical trial.
Galidesivir was originally developed for the treatment of Marburg virus disease and potentially to treat other filoviruses, including Ebola. But the drug has been shown to inhibit more than 20 RNA viruses in nine different families, including the coronaviruses that cause Middle East respiratory syndrome (MARS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The drug works by blocking the synthesis of the RNA in the viruses.
Image source: Getty Images.
Source Fool.com
