Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc (ENTA)

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A new drug shows promise against respiratory virus, study shows
By Brenda Goodman, CNN

Updated 1:39 PM ET, Thu February 17, 2022
A 3-year-old patient in the hospital receives medication via an inhalation mask to treat Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
A 3-year-old patient in the hospital receives medication via an inhalation mask to treat Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
(CNN)A new antiviral medication against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, appears to be safe and lowered viral levels and symptoms significantly more than a placebo, according to the results of a study published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The study is unusual in that it is based on a two-part human challenge trial, where researchers purposefully infect people with a pathogen to test a new therapy. Challenge studies speed up research because scientists don't have to wait for their study participants to get sick out in the real world. They can also enroll fewer people, knowing that participants will inevitably catch a germ. But they're also risky and only considered ethical when the need for a new treatment or therapy is thought to outweigh the potential risks to study participants.