Chimerix's viral drug fails to show improvement in mid-stage study

(Reuters) - Chimerix Inc said its experimental drug failed to show significant benefit in a mid-stage study involving a type of viral infection that mainly affects the lungs. The drug, brincidofovir, was being tested on 48 patients with blood and bone marrow cancers who had adenovirus infection (AdV), a potentially fatal condition which has no known approved treatments. The trial was designed to evaluate the potential to decrease the viral infection or prevent its progression. The drug was given to patients once or twice a week. Increasing progression of the infection was seen in three of the 14 patients who were given the drug twice a week and in eight of the 16 patients who received one dose per week. Overall mortality of the patients also decreased when the drug was given twice a week, compared to patients who were given the drug once a week. Shares in the Durham, North Carolina-based company closed at $19.03 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq and were down 1 percent in premarket trading. (Reporting By Adithya Venkatesan; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)