An international clinical trial has begun enrolling patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in a step towards identifying the first effective treatment for Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), a rare but deadly strain of Ebola that currently has no approved treatment.
The PARTNERS (Platform Adaptive Randomised Trial for New and Repurposed Filovirus TreatmentS) trial will evaluate whether two promising therapies a monoclonal antibody known as MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir can improve survival among people diagnosed with Bundibugyo virus disease.
Researchers will also assess whether combining the two therapies offers greater benefits than using either treatment alone.
The trial is sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and coordinated by the Institut National pour la Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in the DRC, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium, and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with international research, clinical and humanitarian partners, with support from Africa CDC.
According to WHO, while treatments have significantly improved survival for the Zaire strain of Ebola, there are currently no approved therapies specifically for Bundibugyo virus disease, highlighting the urgent need for scientific evidence to guide patient care.
