An experimental and unapproved flu-fighting drug is being made available to hospitals for use by severely ill H1N1 influenza patients.

In an unusual step last week, the antiviral drug Peramivir was authorized for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“They basically fast-tracked it for emergency use,” said Minnesota Department of Health regional epidemiologist Brad Krier of Mankato.

Krier said use of the drug is regarded as a last-ditch effort to save the lives of H1N1 sufferers with severe complications.

One of Peramivir’s salient qualities is that it can be administered intravenously to patients whose swallowing and breathing difficulties preclude taking medication orally.

The drug was used earlier this month to help save the life of a 17-year-old boy at a Minneapolis hospital.

Peramivir reportedly was unsuccessfully used in the case of 54-year-old Mike Milbrath of Waseca, who died at the Mankato hospital a week ago from H1N1 complications. He was the executive vice president of Waseca Medical Center.

On a Caringbridge Web site, family members wrote that the drug was flown in from the East Coast and given to Milbrath Oct. 23. He died the next day. His funeral was Thursday.

Under the new emergency designation, hospitals can get Peramivir directly from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The drug’s manufacturer, BioCryst of Birmingham, Ala., reported last week it has donated 1,200 courses of Peramivir to the federal government for use during the flu pandemic.

Krier said its de facto FDA approval by virtue of its new availability and popularity should generate more research on the drug.

Since early September, Peramivir has been made available on a “compassionate use” basis for patients with severe H1N1 infections.

Since the H1N1 outbreak last spring, there have been 12 confirmed deaths in Minnesota related to the virus.