Chimerix, a Durham biopharmaceutical company, said Tuesday it raised $16.1 million to continue testing antiviral drugs for treating smallpox.

The latest round of financing brings the seven-year-old company’s total haul to $56 million, but Chimerix is still at least several years away from having a commercial product, said chief operating officer Kenneth Moch.

Liquidia Technologies scored $7 million in venture capital this month to continue refining chemotherapy and other treatments not to attack healthy tissue. Now the Durham biopharmaceutical company is moving forward with developing a vaccine and testing it on people as early as next year.

Liquidia's technology can mold nanoparticles into desired shapes and sizes to target specific tissue. Currently, treatments like chemotherapy work like napalm, a scorched earth blast that destroys healthy tissue along with tumors.

This month's round of venture capital was led by Canaan Partners, Pappas Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, bringing the company's total raised to $31.5 million.