Chimerix Awarded BARDA Contract for Development of Antiviral CMX001 Countermeasure Against Smallpox

Chimerix Awarded BARDA Contract for Development of Antiviral CMX001 Countermeasure Against Smallpox

According to the announcement, Chimerix, Inc, has been awarded a contract by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for advanced development of its antiviral drug candidate, CMX001, as a medical countermeasure in the event of a smallpox release.

Excerpt:

"RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Chimerix, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing orally available antiviral therapeutics, today announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the advanced development of Chimerix's broad spectrum antiviral drug candidate, CMX001, as a medical countermeasure in the event of a smallpox release.

CMX001 is a potential dual-use therapeutic with evidence of antiviral activity against all five families of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses that cause morbidity and mortality in humans, including smallpox. Under the terms of the BARDA contract, Chimerix will receive committed funding of $24.8 million during the first year with subsequent option periods that, if completed, would bring the total contract value to $81.1 million.

The funding from BARDA builds upon the $37 million Chimerix previously received from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for development of CMX001 for smallpox, in addition to substantial private investment from top-tier venture capital firms for the development of CMX001 as a treatment for other life-threatening infections such as adenovirus and cytomegalovirus.

As part of progressing the clinical and non-clinical development of CMX001 for the smallpox indication, the BARDA contract will also support expanded human safety trials and the recently initiated CMX001-350 multicenter, open-label clinical study of CMX001 for the treatment of twelve life-threatening or serious conditions caused by dsDNA viruses. This represents Chimerix's first contract with BARDA and will position CMX001 for possible procurement as a medical countermeasure for the Strategic National Stockpile."

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