Boston, MA 10/16/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The Ebola virus is slowly spreading like wild fire as schools in Dallas close down of fear of the virus spreading even further. Having already killed 4,000 people in West Africa, the World Health Organization is warning that that the virus could get out of hand. During an interview on CNBC, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, reiterated that it is high time people came together and faced the virus head-on, instead of having to quarantine infected patients.
Biotech companies, on the other hand, remain a buzz of activities especially with the confirmation of two cases in America. Versar Inc. (NYSEMKT:VSR), maker of protective gear is surging in the market for three consecutive trading session as analysts continue to fear the virus could spread even further. Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd. (NYSEMKT:APT) another maker of protective gear is also surging in the market by 1.19%. Joining the movers in early morning trading session is Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAKE), which is already up by 7.80%.
“You can’t Isolate Liberia a country of 4.5 million people and you can’t isolate Dallas. So, we are going to have to go in now and confront the virus and not just try to quarantine it.,” said Mr. Gottlieb.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the uncertainty around the Ebola virus are protective gear manufacturers as demand for their apparel continues to grow. Ebola drug and vaccines manufacturers are, on the other hand, remaining flat in the market as analysts remain skeptical about the success ongoing trials and testing.
Some of the companies working on Ebola treatments include Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ:TKMR) that is down by 3.60%, Chimerix Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX) up by 7.80% and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) that is up by 1.17%.
Hospitals preparedness to tackle contagious viruses such as Ebola in the U.S is already being questioned after a nurse with symptoms of the disease was allowed to board a plane. The CDC is also being accused of laxity in handling already confirmed cases with many people of the opinion it is not doing enough to prevent further spread.
Gottlieb believes pharmaceutical companies like Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) should be allowed to carry out expedited trails of their drugs as one of the ways of averting further spread of the Ebola virus.
“We do have therapeutics that look active; we haven’t got them into the field quickly enough. We need a crash program to get those into the field and start testing them,” said Mr. Gottlieb
Other companies with Ebola drugs in the pipeline that could benefit from expedited trials include GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK) (-0.88%), Ibio Inc. (NYSEMKT: IBIO) (+27.30%) and NewLink Genetics Corp (NASDAQ:NLNK) (+13.60%).
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