Progression of Ebola Therapeutics During the 2014-2015 Outbreak

Emelissa J Mendoza; Xiangguo Qiu; Gary P Kobinger

doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2015.12.005

Progression of Ebola Therapeutics During the 2014-2015 Outbreak

Trends Mol Med. 2016 Feb;22(2):164-173. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2015.12.005. Epub 2016 Jan 13.

Authors

Emelissa J Mendoza¹, Xiangguo Qiu², Gary P Kobinger³

Affiliations

¹ Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
² Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
³ Special Pathogens Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: gary.kobinger@phac-aspc.gc.ca.

PMID: 26774636
DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2015.12.005

Abstract

The recent Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak in West Africa was the deadliest EBOV epidemic in history, highlighting the need for a safe and efficacious treatment against EBOV disease (EVD). In the absence of an approved treatment, experimental drugs were utilized under compassionate grounds hoping to diminish EVD-associated morbidity and mortality. As more data were collected from safety studies, Phase II/III clinical trials were introduced in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia to test promising candidates, including small-molecule drugs, RNA-based treatments, and antibody-based therapies. In this review, we summarize the use of, and preliminary observations from, current clinical trials with EVD therapeutics, shedding light on experimental drug selection, emergency clinical evaluation, and the impact these factors may have on future infectious disease outbreaks.

Keywords: Ebola virus therapeutics; infectious disease outbreak.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Antibodies, Neutralizing / therapeutic use*
Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use*
Clinical Trials as Topic
Compassionate Use Trials
Disease Outbreaks / prevention & control*
Ebolavirus / drug effects
Ebolavirus / pathogenicity
Ebolavirus / physiology
Guinea / epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / drug therapy*
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / immunology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / virology
Humans
Liberia / epidemiology
RNA, Small Interfering / therapeutic use*
Sierra Leone / epidemiology
Small Molecule Libraries / therapeutic use*
Virus Replication / drug effects

Substances

Antibodies, Neutralizing
Antiviral Agents
RNA, Small Interfering
Small Molecule Libraries

Grants and funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada