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Biotech / Medical : Ebola Outbreak 2014 - News, Updates and Related Investments -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: statesidereport who wrote (30)	8/1/2014 1:43:29 PM
From: statesidereport	Respond to of 608

WHO Warns Ebola Outbreak Out Of Control, "High Risk Of Spread To Other Countries" Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/01/2014 13:36 -0400 ************See map below************ Things just went to 11 on the Spinal-Tap amplifier of massive infectious disease outbreaks. As AP reports, the Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 700 people in West Africa is moving faster than the efforts to control the disease, the head of the World Health Organization warned. Dr. Margaret Chan pulled no punches in her direct statement, "If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives but also severe socio-economic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries." Time to panic? As AP reports, Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said the meeting in Conakry "must be a turning point" in the battle against Ebola, which is now sickening people in three African capitals for the first time in history. ... At least 729 people in four countries — Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria — have died since cases first emerged back in March. Two American health workers in Liberia have been infected, and an American man of Liberian descent died in Nigeria from the disease, health authorities there say. While health officials say the virus is transmitted only through direct contact with bodily fluids, many sick patients have refused to go to isolation centers and have infected family members and other caregivers. The fatality rate has been about 60 percent, and the scenes of patients bleeding from the eyes, mouth and ears has led many relatives to keep their sick family members at home instead. ... "Constant mutation and adaptation are the survival mechanisms of viruses and other microbes," she said. "We must not give this virus opportunities to deliver more surprises." ... "I believe we're only seeing a small portion of the cases out there ... The virus is getting to large, dense, city areas. We're now getting samples (to test) from all over," he said Friday. ... Meanwhile, other countries are taking precautions to prevent the spread of Ebola. * * * Interestingly, worries are spreading quickly as one Commonwealth Games competitor found: a cyclist from Sierra Leone competed in the Commonwealth Games after being tested for Ebola. Moses Sesay, 32, was admitted to a Glasgow hospital last week after feeling unwell, and doctors tested him for various conditions including Ebola. Sesay was passed fit, and released from hospital in time to compete in the individual time trial on Thursday. Yahoo has kindly provided this 'panic sheet' for where the nearest CDC quarantine stations are in the US...

To: statesidereport who wrote (30)	8/1/2014 2:08:14 PM
From: statesidereport	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 608

Tekmira shares skyrocket as Ebola outbreak intensifies in Africa Fri Aug 1, 2014 12:55pm EDT Print This Article \| Single Page [-] Text [+] By Sayantani Ghosh and Ashutosh Pandey (Reuters) - Shares of Canada's Tekmira Pharmaceutical Corp TKMR.O TKM.TO, which has ambitions of producing the first treatment for the deadly Ebola virus, have skyrocketed as the worst-ever outbreak of the virus intensified in West Africa. While human tests of the company's treatment, TKM-Ebola, were put on hold last month due to safety concerns, investors scrambled to buy its stock, sending shares up 1.5 percent to $13 in midday Nasdaq trading, and up more than 50 percent over the past fortnight. "The recent outbreak in West Africa is as profound as any we have seen in recent decades," said Euro Pacific Canada analyst Douglas Loe. "We have solid pre-clinical evidence showing that TKM-Ebola is effective at eradicating Ebola symptoms, giving us confidence that its development activities could resume," he said. The outbreak forced Sierra Leone to declare a state of emergency and call in troops to quarantine victims on Thursday. The country joined neighbor Liberia in imposing tough controls as the death toll in West Africa moved past 700. Indeed, the outbreak is outpacing efforts to control it, but could be stopped, World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan said on Friday. Ebola belongs to a family of viruses that can cause serious hemorrhagic fevers. There have been dozens of deadly outbreaks of the virus across West Africa, threatening people as well as endangered gorilla populations. The recent outbreak, which has caused with 729 deaths in four different countries since February, is the worst since the disease was discovered in the mid-1970s. Tekmira had previously published proof-of-concept data that showed its treatment resulted in 100 percent protection from a lethal dose of Zaire Ebola virus in infected primates. The company started an early-stage clinical trial for the treatment in January and was granted fast-track status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 5, pushing shares to their highest ever a few days later. The FDA's fast track is a process designed to facilitate and expedite the development and review of drugs to allow important new therapies to get to patients quickly. The latest surge in Tekmira shares has come in the past 14 days, with shares soaring 52 percent to $13.65 on the Nasdaq, including Friday's gains. This is despite the treatment having been put on clinical hold on July 3, which pushed shares down more than 15 percent on that day. Tekmira was not immediately available for comment. "What Wall Street does is that it sees an Ebola crisis and it sees Tekmira with an Ebola medical countermeasure that has shown a 100 percent effectiveness in animals," said Maxim Group analyst Jason Kolbert. "It says: 'Wow! This may be a really valuable product'." Kolbert said he expected the hold to be lifted by year-end. Analysts said the FDA would likely face pressure from global health campaigners to consider fast-tracking possible treatments, including Tekmira's. A North Carolina physician petitioned the regulator on Wednesday on the Change.org website to release the hold on Tekmira's treatment. [chn.ge/1AHixDw] The petition has already gathered 12,500 signatures. "Given that at least one patient has transferred the disease from Liberia to Nigeria by air travel, the possibility of a global pandemic becomes increasingly likely," said the petitioner, who identified himself as Ahmed Tejan-Sie, MD. Last month, the director of the influential Wellcome Trust global charity said people at high risk of dying from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa should be offered experimental medicines to see if they work. Tekmira was incorporated in 2005, the result of a reorganization of its parent, Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp, which crashed when the FDA rejected its highly touted cancer drug. Burnaby, British Columbia-based Tekmira has since specialized in the field of gene silencing, otherwise known as RNA interference. All four brokerages covering the company's Nasdaq-listed stock have a "buy" or equivalent rating and an average price target of $26.63, about twice its current price of $13. (Additional reporting by Sneha Banerjee in Bangalore; Editing by Bernadette Baum)