Sarepta Therapeutics reported that AVI-7288, a therapeutic drug candidate for the Marburg virus, has demonstrated up to 100% survival in a non-human primate (NHP) study exploring the drug's effect when treatment is delayed to various time points post-infection.
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The study showed a significantly higher rate of survival among NHPs treated with AVI-7288 compared to the placebo-treated group when treatment was administered up to 96-hours post infection.
Sarepta president and chief executive officer Chris Garabedian said the results are unprecedented and demonstrate a compelling proof of concept with PMOplus chemistry platform and its ability to treat the most lethal and fast-acting viruses, without compromising efficacy of survival even after up to a four-day delay in the initiation of treatment.
"These results represent a significant advancement toward the protection of our service members and the civilian population in the event of a bioterrorist attack," Garabedian added.
A high degree of survival is observed between 83% and 100% in each of four post-exposure cohorts that received daily treatments with AVI-7288 beginning one, 24, 48, or 96hours after infection, compared to 0% survival in the placebo-treated control group.
Currently at Day 27, the study will continue to monitor the surviving non-human primates until study termination at Day 41, according to the company.