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Tekmira gains as development of anti-Ebola therapeutic continues to progress

Last updated: 15:05 07 Nov 2014 GMT, First published: 16:05 07 Nov 2014 GMT

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Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TKMR) (TSE:TKM), a company that has been closely watched for its development of a drug to combat the Ebola crisis, rose on Friday after announcing its third quarter results.

The Canadian biopharmaceuticals firm has gained more than 20 percent in the past three months on news of its Ebola developments, and last month announced that it has begun limited manufacturing of a new therapeutic targeting the Ebola-Guinea virus, which is the viral variant responsible for the current epidemic in West Africa.

"In response to the extremely unique circumstances surrounding the Ebola virus outbreak, we have designed and initiated production of a modified RNAi therapeutic directed against the Guinea variant of the Ebola virus," said president and chief executive officer Dr. Mark J. Murray in a release late Thursday.

"We are also very pleased that the DoD [the US Department of Defense] exercised the option to manufacture TKM-Ebola-Guinea, valued at $7.0 million. This shows a commitment to the continued development of anti-Ebola therapeutics."

Tekmira's new Ebola-Guinea virus RNAi therapeutic was developed after the genomic sequence of the Ebola virus responsible for the current outbreak in West Africa was determined from several viral isolates.

RNAi therapeutics have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases by "silencing" disease causing genes. The ability to rapidly and accurately match the evolving genetic sequences of emerging infectious agents is one of the powerful features of RNAi therapeutics.

Tekmira has its proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery technology -- which has been shown to deliver RNAi drugs to disease sites in a safe and effective way -- and has been working in the field of nucleic acid delivery for more than a decade.

Since the Ebola outbreak was declared in March of this year --- the worst Ebola epidemic since the disease was identified in 1976 --- more than 4,800 people have died in West Africa after contracting the virus, which is passed through contact with the body's fluids. 

The outbreak is centred in Liberia and neighbouring Sierra Leone, but has affected three other countries in West Africa as well, and has been declared an international public health emergency by the World Health Organization. Some cases have also emerged in the US and Spain, with the first Ebola death in the US occurring earlier in October. More than 440 health care workers have contracted the virus, which has prompted the US government to consider quanrantines for health care workers returning from Africa.

Supply of Tekmira's TKM-Ebola-Guinea product will be available in early December, the company said, with the aim of using the product for clinical studies in West Africa, with the Department of Defense awarding an option to scale up and manufacture the therapeutic for approximately 500 treatment courses, valued at $7.0 million.

In September, Tekmira joined an international consortium to provide an RNAi-based investigational drug for expedited clinical studies in West Africa.

The consortium, led by Dr. Peter Horby of the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oxford, includes representatives from the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control, Doctors without Borders, and ISARIC, among others.

For the third quarter, the company reported a net loss of $8.6 million, or 39 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $5.9 million, or 41 cents per share, in the same period of 2013. Revenue jumped to $4.4 million from $3.0 million in the year-ago quarter.

Under the Department of Defense contract to develop TKM-Ebola, Tekmira is being reimbursed for costs incurred and is being paid an incentive fee. It recorded $1.5 million under this contract in revenue in the third quarter.

Research and development costs were higher, at $9.3 million versus $5.5 million in the same period last year. Expenses increased with regards to its TKM-HBV therapeutic, for which it is preparing to file an investigation drug application, as well as for other drugs it is developing.

Shares added 4.3 percent to C$18.79 in Toronto on Friday as of 10:47am ET. 

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