AVI Biopharma stole the Tekmira news thunder a bit
On the same day as the Tekmira news announcement about the DoD Ebola contract, seems AVI Pharma (another RNAi micro-cap) also got a DoD contract for Ebola and Marburg, but on a grander scale. See Reuters report below. AVI Pharma (AVII), listed on the NASDAQ, is spiking well in pre-market trading. I'm not too thrilled with the pre-market bid/ask prices for Tekmira this morning -- Tekmira is so under-appreciated, but hopefully a favorable NASDAQ listing decision will help that.
TORONTO, July 15 (Reuters) - Two biopharmaceutical companies won contracts on Thursday with the U.S. Department of Defense for the development of treatments for hemorrhagic fever.
Vancouver-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp (TKM.TO) said it won a contract valued up to $140 million to develop a treatment for Ebola.
Bothell, Washington-based AVI BioPharma Inc (AVII.O) said it won a contract for funding up to $291 million, sending shares of the company up more than 20 percent in after-hours trading.
Under the terms of its deal, Tekmira would be eligible for up to $34.7 million over the next three years, with the possibility of an extension that could push the total funding up to $140 million. More than 15 percent of the estimated amount would be subcontracted to U.S. businesses.
AVI Biopharma would get up to $80 million immediately with the possibility of further funding, up to $291 million, for the development of treatments for the Ebola and Marburg viruses.
The Ebola virus is associated with periodic outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever in central Africa, with mortality rates reaching 90 percent. There is currently no cure. The Marburg virus is in the same taxonomic family as Ebola.
Tekmira and AVI BioPharma both specialize in RNA-based therapies.
In collaboration with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tekmira published data in The Lancet medical journal in May that showed its treatment resulted in 100 percent protection from an otherwise lethal dose of Zaire Ebola virus in previously infected primates.
Tekmira shares, which were halted pending the news, were last at C$1.34 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. AVI shares rose 22.1 percent to $1.99 on Nasdaq.
($1=$1.04 Canadian) (Reporting by Solarina Ho; editing by Rob Wilson)