Traws Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRAW) shares reported sharp gains to begin Friday trade. The Newtown, Pa.-based company, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical concern developing novel therapies to target critical threats to human health from respiratory viral diseases, today announced plans to advance potential clinical candidates for the treatment of hantavirus infections.
According to this morning’s news release, “Traws Pharma is responding to the threat of Hantavirus, a rodent-borne negative-strand RNA virus that typically results in a 30-50% fatality rate when transmitted to humans and which has been implicated as the cause of several cruise ship fatalities and serious illnesses in recent days”.
The Company is already developing small molecule antiviral drugs against negative-strand RNA family viruses including influenza, the deadly H5N1 bird flu, SARS-CoV-2 and others. Viruses in this group face unique obstacles for replicating their genome and expressing viral gene proteins.
Evolved solutions to these problems create unique targets for the development of small molecule antiviral drugs. Because the viral target proteins and their mechanisms of action do not exist in humans, the corresponding antiviral drugs generally have high specificity and safety.
“Using our large collection of clinical and non-clinical antiviral drug assets, Traws plans to rapidly advance clinical candidates for the treatment and prevention of Hantavirus disease. These drug candidates have already been tested for inhibition of negative-strand virus replication and may be used alone or in combination to achieve the necessary potency,” commented C. David Pauza, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Traws Pharma.
TRAW shares captured 55 cents, or 32.1%, to $2.25.
