Spring Break
A life on the line, an experimental drug to try
Experimental new drug made by OSU professor offers dying child last chance for survival
Lisa Riordan
Issue date: 6/7/07 Section: News
Apparently still shedding from the injection site, the father ventured home, unknowingly exposing his family to the vaccinia virus.
"People receiving the smallpox vaccination are supposed to avoid contact with children, people with cuts, or the otherwise immunocompromised," Hruby said. "And as it turns out, the boy already suffered from eczema. So with all those open sores, it's no wonder he contracted Vaccinia."
The boy had suffered from severe health problems throughout his life - including eczema, a skin disease. Skin lesions, like those caused by eczema, can make individuals more susceptible to infection.
CDC officials questioned Hruby about Siga's newest drug development, in the hopes that it would help save the dying boy. Still in the experimental phase, ST-246 is an oral anti-viral medication designed to combat smallpox.
The virus used in smallpox vaccinations, the vaccinia virus, is structurally similar to the smallpox virus. So theoretically, a drug designed to defeat smallpox would also work against vaccinia, and vice versa.
"They explained the situation to me ... we discussed it ... and in the end, we decided to give it a go," Hruby said. "Then the CDC got a teleconference with the FDA. We told them what we were going to do, and they granted permission."
Officials arranged for a private charter plane to immediately transport Hruby and his life saving cargo. The redeye flight departed from Oregon on Saturday night and landed in Chicago around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. From there, Hruby traveled to the hospital and met with pharmacy staff to discuss the logistics of administering ST-246.
"It was designed as an oral medication, and there was no way this child could have taken anything by mouth," Hruby said. "So we had to be creative."
In the end they decided to open the capsule, emulsify its contents, and deliver it through the child's feeding tube.
"The medicine had been tested in humans for safety, but it had never been in a child or a diseased person before," Hruby said. "We had to use our best judgment as far as dosage was concerned."
"People receiving the smallpox vaccination are supposed to avoid contact with children, people with cuts, or the otherwise immunocompromised," Hruby said. "And as it turns out, the boy already suffered from eczema. So with all those open sores, it's no wonder he contracted Vaccinia."
The boy had suffered from severe health problems throughout his life - including eczema, a skin disease. Skin lesions, like those caused by eczema, can make individuals more susceptible to infection.
CDC officials questioned Hruby about Siga's newest drug development, in the hopes that it would help save the dying boy. Still in the experimental phase, ST-246 is an oral anti-viral medication designed to combat smallpox.
The virus used in smallpox vaccinations, the vaccinia virus, is structurally similar to the smallpox virus. So theoretically, a drug designed to defeat smallpox would also work against vaccinia, and vice versa.
"They explained the situation to me ... we discussed it ... and in the end, we decided to give it a go," Hruby said. "Then the CDC got a teleconference with the FDA. We told them what we were going to do, and they granted permission."
Officials arranged for a private charter plane to immediately transport Hruby and his life saving cargo. The redeye flight departed from Oregon on Saturday night and landed in Chicago around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. From there, Hruby traveled to the hospital and met with pharmacy staff to discuss the logistics of administering ST-246.
"It was designed as an oral medication, and there was no way this child could have taken anything by mouth," Hruby said. "So we had to be creative."
In the end they decided to open the capsule, emulsify its contents, and deliver it through the child's feeding tube.
"The medicine had been tested in humans for safety, but it had never been in a child or a diseased person before," Hruby said. "We had to use our best judgment as far as dosage was concerned."
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