BioCryst receives $22.5 million peramivir order

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it will receive $22.5 million as part of a new contract with the Department of Health and Human Services over the intravenous flu treatment peramivir.

The company said it shipped about 10,000 courses of the treatment Wednesday.

Peramivir is an intravenous drug intended to treat the flu in patients who are hospitalized, and too sick to take an oral treatment. The government has authorized use of peramivir as a treatment for the swine flu, but clinical testing is expected to continue until 2011.

Under the emergency use authorization, the experimental drug would be given to some adult or pediatric patients who are not responding to either oral or inhaled anti-viral therapy. Also, it would be given when only intravenous treatment is considered dependable in individual cases or if a doctor judges that that intravenous therapy is appropriate.

The company is studying peramivir's effectiveness as a flu treatment partly with funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.

BioCryst said it expects the completion of another 120,000 courses by the end of December, as part of its plan to prepare for potential future orders.

Shares of BioCryst rose 55 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $10.65 in premarket trading. The stock closed at $10.10 Wednesday.