Swine Flu Outbreak in Mexico Sends Small BioPharma Sky-High

According to

, nine people have died from a Swine Flu, H1N1 outbreak in Mexico. This is almost a double in reported deaths from last week. Health officials in Mexico are said to have identified 573 cases of Swine Flu. This is up from 333 instances on Thursday of last week, according to the article. In 2009, an outbreak of the same Swine Flu strain in Mexico and the United States, quickly became a global pandemic, claiming the lives of 17,000 people. In Mexico alone, 1,250 people died. After H1N1 reports returned to normal levels in 2010, the World Health Organization deemed the end of the pandemic, for the time being. As the outbreak continues to unfold, several stocks are benefiting. A few of these stocks include Novavax

, Hemispherx BioPharma

, and Biocryst

.

Novavax is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which focuses on developing recombinant vaccines for infectious diseases using its virus-like particle platform technology. It develops vaccine product candidates that target pandemic influenza, including H1N1 and H5N1 strains; seasonal influenza; and respiratory syncytial virus. Currently, shares of Novavax are seeing much strength, up about 11% at $1.46.

Hemispherx Biopharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company, which engages in the clinical development of new drug therapies based on natural immune system enhancing technologies for the treatment of viral and immune based chronic disorders. Currently, shares of Hemispherx BioPharma are trading over 20% higher at $0.26.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company, which designs, optimizes, and develops small-molecule pharmaceuticals that block key enzymes involved in infectious diseases, cancer, and inflammatory diseases. It uses structure-based drug design, which incorporates multiple scientific disciplines, including biology, crystallography, medicinal chemistry, and computer to develop new therapeutic candidates. Currently, shares of Biocryst are trading over 10% higher at $3.14.