Tekmira shares jump as US FDA and Health Canada expand access to Ebola drug

Shares of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TKMR) have rocketed after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized Tekmira to provide its investigational drug TKM-Ebola for treatment under expanded access protocols to people with confirmed or suspected Ebola virus infections. The company’s shares were up 12.8% to $22.74 yesterday on the news.

Mark Murray, Tekmira's president and chief executive, said: “Today we are reporting that, working closely with regulators in the United States and Canada, we have established a framework for TKM-Ebola use in multiple patients. In the USA, the FDA has granted expanded access use of TKM-Ebola under our Investigational New Drug application (IND) and Health Canada has established a similar framework, both of which allow the use of our investigational therapeutic in more patients."

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