The first clinical trial is under way of an antiviral drug's effectiveness in people exposed to the deadly Ebola strain spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the WHO said Tuesday.The trial, called EBO-PEP, aims to assess the effectiveness of the antiviral obeldesivir in post-exposure prophylaxis, for people who have been in contact with confirmed Bundibugyo cases.
The experimental drug, which is administered orally and was developed by the US pharma firm Gilead Sciences, has shown efficacy in pre-clinical models against viruses in the wider family of filoviruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers.
Clinical trials mark the stage where a promising drug is tested on humans.
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the launch of the trial in a post on X.
"Every breakthrough begins with hope," he wrote.
