New ?u drug to be used at UNC

Patients with severe influenza might soon have a new option for medical treatment.

UNC Hospitals is the only hospital in the state that will administer a drug called Peramivir to a small number of patients hospitalized for influenza as part of a national study on the effectiveness of the drug.

The drug treats several strains of the flu, including the H1N1 virus.

The drug is the only existing flu treatment that is administered intravenously, said Dr. Christopher Hurt, a physician in UNC’s Division of Infectious Diseases. Tamiflu and Relenza, both common medications used to treat the flu, are ingested or inhaled.

Its unique intravenous application could help UNC and hospitals across the country better treat patients, Hurt said.

Hurt said because Peramivir is given though IV, it would only be used in severe cases.

“It’s not that it’s stronger, but it’s getting to where it needs to be — the bloodstream,” he said.

The study is funded by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc., the company that developed the drug. The company contacted UNC and other schools to participate in the study.

The program could begin enrolling patients this week, but fewer than 10 people will be chosen to participate. The patients will receive the drug along with traditional flu medications, Hurt said.

The drug has been through animal trials, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved it for human trials but not mass distribution, Hurt said.

It is possible in rare cases that patients will be able to apply to get Peramivir before testing is complete if they are fatally ill and other treatment options have been exhausted.

Peramivir would be used in cases where patients are not able to use their mouths to take medicine, such as people on breathing machines or ventilators.

Hurt said the patient must give consent to be put on Peramivir. They can participate in the study free of charge.

Because the test is a double-blind study, neither the patient nor the doctor will know if the drug or a placebo is administered.

“We would give them the institutional standard of care,” Hurt said. “Whatever we would normally do for that person, we would also do for the person in the study.”

If the drug proves effective and safe in the trial, it could earn FDA approval for production within one to two years, Hurt said.

Hurt urged students to get vaccinated before going home.

“The last thing you want to do is to be carting swine flu back to grandma and grandpa,” he said.



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