Chimerix, a Durham biotechnology company developing orally available antiviral therapeutics, has initiated a multi-dose trial with an oral treatment for smallpox infection.
The trial will study the pharmacokinetics and safety of three doses of its lead drug candidate, CMX001, in healthy volunteers. Chimerix is developing the drug under a licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences. The work is partially funded by a $36.1 million grant awarded to the company by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
"The high oral availability demonstrated by CMX001 in the Phase I trial has validated the utility of the company's lipid technology, ProLipTag, and creates optimism for the potential of this drug candidate," said Dr. George Painter, Chimerix president and CEO. "In addition to smallpox, we believe that CMX001 has great potential in treating other serious infections such as human papillomavirus and cytomegalovirus."
CMX001 is being developed for the treatment of smallpox infection and other double-stranded DNA virus infections that cause significant human morbidity and mortality. A safe, orally active antiviral drug for smallpox is needed to provide a means of treating people who become ill post exposure to the disease or who cannot be vaccinated. Chimerix has previously demonstrated that single doses of CMX001 provided excellent drug exposure and were well tolerated in healthy volunteers.