Just days after federal regulators rushed through an emergency approval for the use of BioCryst's IV flu drug peramivir, the Alabama biotech says that it's shipped 10,000 courses of the treatment, reaping a windfall sale of $22.5 million. And the news helped buoy BioCryst's share price this morning.
The federal contract gives the government the right to buy another 30,000 courses, says TheStreet, noting that the company is charging the government $2,250 per course--at the high end of expectations. Just in case it's needed, BioCryst is making 120,000 more courses of the IV form of the drug, which is used for people who have been hospitalized with the flu. BioCryst CEO Jon Stonehouse says the company can make even more if needed.
"BioCryst has been in contact with a number of governments around the world that are assessing i.v. peramivir for critically ill influenza patients," says Stonehouse.
- check out the press release
- here's the report from Adam Feuerstein at TheStreet