There
is no cure for Ebola. But don’t tell that to traders. Shares of a
US-based company working on a drug to treat the infectious disease
surged nearly 40% last week.
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals popped on much
higher trading volume than usual because investors are hopeful that
health agencies in the United States might approve its drug, known as
TKM-Ebola.
But investors buying this stock now need to be extremely careful.
Reporters reported Monday that two Americans
who were infected with the Ebola virus in Liberia were treated with a
drug made by privately-held San Diego company Mapp Biopharmaceutical.
Shares of Tekmira, which were up as much
as 26% at one point Monday, gave up all of their gains following the reporters report and finished the day down 7%. Meanwhile, shares of BioCryst
Pharmaceuticals (BCRX), another small biotech working on a drug that
could be used to treat Ebola, were up more than 5% Monday.
Jason Kolbert, an analyst with Maxim
Group who covers Tekmira, said in an interview that it is important to
note that the U.S. government is working with several companies on an
Ebola treatment. So he was not surprised to hear that Mapp’s serum was
used onDr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol.
He added that just because another
medication was used, that does not mean that Tekmira’s drug won’t
eventually prove to be viable.
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