BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday a dose of its experimental antiviral drug improved survival rates in mice infected with the Zika virus in a preclinical study.
Two doses of the drug, BCX443, were tested against a placebo and an oral antiviral called ribavarin for their effect on survival of immune-deficient mice infected with Zika.
Seven out of eight mice that received the “standard” dose survived but none of the other mice that received either a low dose, the placebo or ribavirin were alive after 28 days.
