BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, designs, optimizes, and develops novel drugs that block key enzymes involved in the pathogenesis of diseases. The company integrates the disciplines of biology, crystallography, medicinal chemistry, and computer modeling to discover and develop small molecule pharmaceuticals through the structure-guided drug design process. Its product candidates include peramivir, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor, which is approved for seasonal influenza in Japan and Korea, as well as in Phase III clinical trials for acute influenza; ulodesine, an oral purine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitor, which has completed Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of gout; and forodesine, an oral purine nucleoside phosphorylase inhibitor that is in Phase II clinical trials for oncology. The company's product candidates also comprise BCX4161, a Phase I oral serine protease inhibitor for kallikrein hereditary angioedema; and BCX4430, a preclinical, RNA dependent-RNA polymerase inhibitor for treating Filoviruses. It has collaborative relationships with Mundipharma International Holdings Limited for the development and commercialization of forodesine; and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. and Green Cross Corporation for the development and commercialization of peramivir. Biocryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.