Ebola drug maker’s stock rises

There is no cure for Ebola. But don’t tell that to traders. Shares of a US-based company working on a drug to treat the infectious disease surged nearly 40% last week. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals popped on much higher trading volume than usual because investors are hopeful that health agencies in the United States might approve its drug, known as TKM-Ebola. But investors buying this stock now need to be extremely careful. CNN reported Monday that two Americans who were infected with the Ebola virus in Liberia were treated with a drug made by privately-held San Diego company Mapp Biopharmaceutical. Shares of Tekmira, which were up as much as 26% at one point Monday, gave up all of their gains following the CNN report and finished the day down 7%. Meanwhile, shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX), another small biotech working on a drug that could be used to treat Ebola, were up more than 5% Monday. Jason Kolbert, an analyst with Maxim Group who covers Tekmira, said in an interview that it is important to note that the U.S. government is working with several companies on an Ebola treatment. So he was not surprised to hear that Mapp’s serum was used onDr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. He added that just because another medication was used, that does not mean that Tekmira’s drug won’t eventually prove to be viable.