BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (TheStreet) --The U.S. government intends to stockpile BioCryst Pharmaceuticals'(BCRX Quote) antiviral flu drug peramivir, but the size of the purchase order request may fall short of Wall Street's expectations. BioCryst said Monday that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has submitted a request for proposal, or RFP, to order a minimum of 1,000 peramivir doses and up to a maximum of 40,000 doses. Peramivir is an intravenous antiviral drug, not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The drug would be stockpiled under an emergency use order as a treatment for critically ill and hospitalized flu patients. The U.S. government's RFP is essentially a request to order peramivir, which BioCryst cautions may not result in an actual purchase. The company said it is preparing a response to the government's request. The government has already stockpiled tens of millions of courses of other antiviral drugs to combat H1N1 flu pandemic, most notably Roche's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's(GSK Quote) Relenza. By comparison, the proposed order for BioCryst's peramivir is tiny. Investors who bid up shares of BioCryst in recent weeks expecting a significant peramivir order may be disappointed. BioCryst shares were down 1% to $9.92 in early Monday trading. BioCryst did not disclose the dollar amount of the government's requested purchase order for peramivir. BioCryst bulls, however, had been predicting that a course of peramivir would be priced around $300-$400. That implies a government stockpiling order in the range of $300,000 to $14 million, assuming a $350-per-course cost.
BTA Price at posting:
$2.48 Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
