Josh Hardy
Josh Hardy, 7, is affected by a rare form of tumour that drug produced by Chimerix can cure Facebook

A seven-year-old in an intensive care unit in Memphis, Tennessee has been denied a drug that could prevent his organs failing.

Josh Hardy is affected by a Malignant Rhabdoid Tumour (MRT) – which can cause his heart and kidneys to fail.

Josh vomits blood several times an hour and has done since he was nine-months-old, when he was diagnosed with the tumour. The condition affects around 15 children every year.

Brincidofovir, an antiviral drug manufactured by drug maker company Chimerix, could potentially help Josh.

Drug company Chimerix which manufactures Brincidofovir, an antiviral drug that could help Josh, is reluctant to provide the boy with the medicine because this will slow down getting the drug on to the market.

As CNN reported, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), "compassionate use" involves the possibility to use an experimental drug in case of an immediate life-threatening disease, when other available treatments have failed.

The drug can be asked for even if researchers are still studying it and it has not yet been approved by the FDA.

Pharmaceutical companies can deny the use of the drug in such cases, however.

When Chimerix chief executive officer and director Kenneth Moch was asked how he would feel if Josh died, he promptly answered: "Horrible and heartbroken".

As Moch has children too, he said that if his child had an aggressive adenovirus like Josh, he'd be doing the same thing as Josh's parents.

"There are no words to express our compassion for this young boy and his family and what they're going through".

Moch has no intention to provide Josh with the drug.

The company would have to dish out $50,000 (£30,064) per compassionate use patient, since insurance doesn't normally pay for experimental drugs, Moch explained.

Furthermore, compassionate use of the drug would divert manpower in Chimerix, handling requests and patients' records, as required by the FDA, Moch continued.

"If this were just one patient wanting this drug, then this would be a very different question. But it's yes to all or no to all," he concluded.

Doctors at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Memphis have repeatedly asked for the drug too.

After requests,they received an email by executive Dr Herve Mommeja-Marin, who said the company "was not in a position to provide the drug for this and other subjects in similar circumstances due to a limited inventory and our limited resources".

Todd Hardy, Josh's father told CNN that: "Our son will die without this drug. We're begging them to give it to us."

Josh's parents have taken to the social media to pressurise the drug company to provide them with the drug.

"Our son will die without this drug. We're begging them to give it to us."
Todd Harry - Josh's father

Change.org is also running a campaign to help Josh.

Hundreds of people have shown their support to the Hardy family on Twitter, using the hashtag #saveJosh or #JoshHardy