U.S. boosts new Ebola drug

The U.S. government says it will help develop a new Ebola drug ? one of five drugs that are being tested against the deadly virus. This one's made by North Carolina-based BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. "BioCryst's drug, BCX4430, is a small molecule that prevents the Ebola virus from reproducing in the body," the Health and Human Services Department said in a statement. "Small molecule" means it can be taken as a pill. "In non-human primate studies, the drug was effective against Ebola virus and Marburg virus, another virus in the filovirus family, indicating that BCX4430 may be useful as a broad spectrum antiviral drug."