Tekmira shares jump 25% after FDA eases Ebola drug restrictions

Shares of Canada's Tekmira Pharmaceuticals jumped as much as 25 per cent yesterday, after a regulator cleared its experimental Ebola drug for potential use in humans infected with the virus.

The US Food and Drug Administration told Tekmira that it had modified the full clinical hold on the drug to a partial clinical hold, the company said in a statement after markets closed on Thursday. "We have been closely watching the Ebola virus outbreak and its consequences, and we are willing to assist with any responsible use of TKM-Ebola," Tekmira chief executive Mark Murray said.

Tekmira’s Ebola treatment is one of three worldwide that have shown promising results in monkeys, but it is unproven in humans. The company did not say if or when it would begin tests, only that it might. – (Reuters/Bloomberg)