Dallas Ebola patient Thomas Duncan is now receiving an experimental drug called brincidofovir, a broad-spectrum antiviral that has appeared promising against Ebola in test tube studies. The drug is currently being tested on animals but has not been tested on humans.
Duncan is still in critical condition, according to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
The drug is an oral medication developed by the biopharmaceutical company Chimerix Inc. The company says the drug received Emergency Investigational New Drug Applications (EIND) from the Food and Drug Administration on Monday morning and it is working with the agency to open a clinical trial. The request for use of investigational drugs can be made by physicians. So far, this drug has only shown effectiveness against the virus in vitro.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Tom Frieden previously said the decision of whether to treat Duncan with any experimental drugs would be left up Duncan, his family and his doctors.
- Essay: The Tyre Nichols Videos Demand Solemnity, Not Sensationalism
- For People With Disabilities, Losing Abortion Access Can Be a Matter of Life or Death
- Inside the Stealth Efforts to Smuggle Starlink Internet Into Iran
- Natasha Lyonne on Poker Face and Creating Characters Who Subvert Leading-Lady Tropes
- How to Help the Victims and Community After the Monterey Park Shooting
- Why Grocery Staples Are So Expensive Right Now
- Quantum Computers Could Solve Countless Problems—and Create a Lot of New Ones
- Where to Watch All of the 2023 Oscar Nominees
- How to Be Mindful if You Hate Meditating
