Sarepta Therapeutics Inc SRPT opened sharply higher Friday on news that its drug candidate for Ebola didn't present safety concerns in two small human trials.
The company announced results of the studies on Thursday, which were performed under a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.
In earlier trials with monkeys, the drug offered protection against Ebola ranging from 80 percent to 100 percent, according to Sarepta.
The two recent Phase I human trials Each involved 30 subjects and showed the drug to be well-tolerated at varying dose levels.
Compounds in the drug also form the basis for Sarepta's development-stage influenza drug.
Sarepta shares have proven extremely volatile this year and until recently traded mainly on the news flow concerning its development-stage treatment for a form of muscular dystrophy.
Sarepta traded recently at $23.15, up 4.2 percent.
Other companies at work on potential Ebola treatments include BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Corp. BCRX off 1.4 percent early Friday; Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp TKMR down 1.6 percent and GlaxoSmithKline plc GSK up 1.8 percent.
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