Shares Of Biotech Company Chimerix Are Surging After FDA Authorizes Potential Ebola Treatment

Shares of Chimerix were up about 6% in pre-market trade on Monday after the company announced that the FDA approved the company's drug brincidofovir for potential use in patients with Ebola.

In a statement, the company said it is, "working closely with the FDA to finalize a clinical trial protocol early this week to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of brincidofovir in patients who are confirmed to have an infection with the Ebola virus."

Following the announcement, shares of Tekmira and BioCryst, which have been working on treatments for Ebola, were down more than 4%.

Over the weekend, the condition of the first Ebola patient in the US took a turn for the worse, as Thomas Eric Duncan is now in critical condition.

You can read the full announcement from Chimerix here.