WIKIMEDIA, RICHARD ROBINSONAlthough TKM-Ebola, a short interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy to treat Ebola infection, has not been approved for use in humans, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing for “compassionate use” of the medication. In other words, even though a drug is not fully vetted, the dire circumstances of the patients justify risky measures. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, the drug’s manufacturer, announced in a press release yesterday (September 22) that the FDA and Health Canada will “allow the use of our investigational therapeutic in more patients.”
Already, Tekmira has provided the medication to several Ebola patients “and the repeat infusions have been well tolerated,” according to the statement. “However, it must be kept in mind that any uses of the product under expanded access, does not constitute controlled clinical trials.”
David Kroll at Forbes pointed out that the successful administration of TKM-Ebola in monkeys saved the animals from a strain of the virus that circulated in 1995. “On one hand, this shows that TKM-Ebola could be effective against a strain separated by almost 20 years, but is no guarantee that it will against the currently-circulating strain,” he wrote.
USA Today reported that one of the patients who has taken TKM-Ebola is Richard Sacra, a US physician who became infected in Liberia ...
