A clinical trial testing two drugs against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which is driving a fast-moving outbreak in Central Africa, is set to begin next week, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday.
The clinical trial — which will test both Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir and MappBio’s monoclonal antibody MBP-134 — will be conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The trial is designed to test whether either of the therapies is effective against this form of Ebola, and whether using the two in combination would be a more effective way to combat the disease.
The current outbreak, the third largest on record, is growing at an alarming rate in the DRC. The outbreak is centered in the northeastern part of the country, an area with prolonged political instability, large numbers of displaced people, and food shortages. As of earlier this week, nearly 1,100 cases have been confirmed in the DRC, with over 275 deaths. Neighboring Uganda, which has seen several imported cases — and limited local spread from them — has recorded 20 confirmed cases so far, with two deaths.
The United States government has supplied doses of MBP-134 for the clinical trial. Through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, the U.S. has funded research on the monoclonal and it owns the doses MappBio has produced.
