The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commenced clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to evaluate two experimental treatments for Bundibugyo Virus Disease (BVD), a rare form of Ebola.
In May, WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda a
public health emergency of international concern.
WHO said the outbreak does not meet the threshold for a
pandemic emergency under the international health regulations.
The agency said the declaration followed consultations with
authorities in DRC and Uganda over the escalating spread of the virus and the
risk of cross-border transmission.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) said the ongoing Ebola crisis in Central and East Africa could cost the
continent as much as $3.6 billion in economic output and wipe out more than
328,000 jobs if the virus spreads beyond its current hotspots.
In a statement on Thursday, WHO said the platform adaptive
randomised trial for new and repurposed filovirus treatments (PARTNERS) will
assess whether two antiviral therapies, such as monoclonal antibody (MBP134)
and remdesivir, can improve survival among people diagnosed with BVD.
WHO said it will also evaluate whether combining both
antivirals provides additional benefits.
The statement noted that the trial is sponsored by the WHO
and coordinated by the Institut National de 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 the Africa Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention.
It noted that since the start of the outbreak, over 1,400
people have been diagnosed with BVD, nearly 210 people have recovered and
nearly 440 people have died of the disease in DRC.
“While effective treatments have been developed for Ebola
virus disease, none are currently approved for Bundibugyo virus disease, and no
treatment has been shown to work across all virus types that cause Ebola
diseases,” the statement reads.
“These treatments were selected for the trial by the WHO
technical advisory group after a thorough review of scientific evidence,
including preclinical research and safety data, and evidence from previous
outbreak responses.
“People enrolled in the clinical trial will be provided with
close support and follow-up for at least 28 days after enrolment.”
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, said the
therapeutics would save the lives of patients and affected communities.
“Even without approved therapeutics, people are recovering
from this disease, but of course, we could save many more lives with safe and
effective therapeutics in our toolkit,” the statement quoted Ghebreyesus.
“The PARTNERS trial, established with national authorities
and scientific partners in record time, offers real hope that we can deliver
concrete results for and with the communities at the heart of the outbreak.”
Amanda Rojek, PARTNERS trial operations lead and associate
professor of health emergencies at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University
of Oxford, said lessons from previous Ebola outbreaks showed that research
should be conducted alongside emergency response efforts rather than after
outbreaks have ended.
“We urgently need treatments that can help people affected
by Bundibugyo virus disease. One of the key lessons from recent outbreaks is
that research needs to happen alongside the response, not after it,” Rojek
said.
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