WHO and Africa CDC Prioritize Experimental Ebola Treatments and Vaccines for Bundibugyo Strain Amid DRC Outbreak
核心洞察
The WHO has prioritized three experimental treatments—MBP134, maftivimab, and remdesivir—for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, with clinical trials set to begin in the DRC.
Africa CDC (搜索) has issued an urgent appeal for $18 million to support therapeutic trials, warning that funding shortfalls could delay life-saving research.
Among vaccines, the rVSV Bundibugyo (搜索) candidate from IAVI is considered most promising but remains 7–9 months from trial readiness, while ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo (搜索) could be available in 2–3 months.
The World Health Organization has recommended prioritizing three experimental treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola as an outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in Uganda. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has simultaneously issued an urgent call for $18 million in funding to support clinical trials, warning that delays could jeopardize containment efforts.
The WHO identified Mapp Biopharmaceutical's MBP134, Regeneron's maftivimab, and Gilead Sciences' antiviral remdesivir as priority therapeutic candidates. The agency and outside experts have been working to identify several candidates for evaluation in clinical trials to generate data on their use.
"There are currently no approved vaccines or therapies specifically for the Bundibugyo virus disease," the WHO stated, underscoring the critical unmet medical need posed by this strain.
Therapeutic Candidates and Trial Readiness
Supply of maftivimab is already on the ground in the DRC, should the WHO wish to utilize it for immediate treatment or as an additional component of study, Regeneron said in a statement. For prevention, Gilead's experimental oral antiviral obeldesivir was highlighted as a priority for post-exposure use in contacts of confirmed cases, although its effectiveness will depend on robust contact tracing.
The clinical trials are due to begin this week in Bunia, capital of Ituri province, where the first cases involving the Bundibugyo strain were confirmed. The program is testing Gilead Sciences' oral drug obeldesivir to prevent infection in people exposed to the virus, and remdesivir and Mapp Biopharmaceuticals (搜索)' antibody to reduce mortality among infected patients, according to the Africa CDC (搜索).
The WHO advisors also recommended evaluating combination therapy using a monoclonal antibody together with remdesivir.
Vaccine Development Landscape
Among vaccines, a single-dose candidate known as rVSV Bundibugyo (搜索), being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), was seen as the most promising. However, the WHO noted it is unlikely to be ready for trials for another seven to nine months.
Another candidate, ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo (搜索), developed by Oxford University (搜索) and the Serum Institute of India, could be available for testing within two to three months, though additional animal data are still needed.
The WHO also reviewed the potential use of Merck (搜索)'s Ervebo, the only licensed Ebola vaccine, but concluded it should not be deployed outside research settings as evidence of protection against Bundibugyo virus remains limited and inconclusive.
Urgent Funding Gap
Africa CDC (搜索) said funding for vaccine-related studies was largely in place, but therapeutic trials remained underfunded. The agency called on governments, development banks, philanthropic organizations, and other partners to provide $16 million within days to continue the obeldesivir study and an additional $2 million to $3 million for contact tracing.
"We have the science. We now need the funding to use it. Clinical trials must start this week, and every day of delay costs lives we could save," said Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC (搜索).
The program also includes accelerated development and manufacturing of next-generation Bundibugyo-specific vaccines, the agency added.
Collaborative Mobilization
Africa is working with partners such as the World Health Organization, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (搜索) to assemble what the Africa CDC (搜索) described as "one of the fastest scientific mobilizations ever mounted against a newly emerging Ebola strain."
The WHO said it is working with authorities in Congo and Uganda, along with partners including Africa CDC (搜索), to design and implement clinical trials under strict ethical standards.