As the Ebola epidemic continues to expand across the Democratic Republic of Congo despite intensified containment efforts, the World Health Organization has announced a significant step forward in the search for effective therapies. On June 24, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed from Geneva that a clinical trial evaluating two potential antiviral treatments against Ebola would begin in the DRC within days, with all necessary preparations now complete.
The trial will assess two drugs — MBP134 and remdesivir — specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus disease, a variant for which approved therapeutic options remain severely limited. Researchers will evaluate whether the treatments reduce patient mortality when administered separately or in combination.
A Strain With Few Treatment Options
The Bundibugyo strain is distinct from the more commonly known Zaire strain, which was the focus of previous Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and for which approved treatments, including mAb114 and REGN-EB3, already exist. The relative scarcity of Bundibugyo-specific therapeutics has made the current outbreak particularly challenging to manage from a clinical standpoint, underscoring the urgency of this trial.
Remdesivir, an antiviral developed by Gilead Sciences, gained international recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since been explored for use against other viral hemorrhagic fevers. MBP134 is a monoclonal antibody cocktail previously investigated for its potential against multiple Ebola species. WHO Director-General Tedros acknowledged both the United States government and Gilead Sciences for donating the doses that will be used in the study.
International Consortium to Lead the Research
The trial will be conducted by a multi-institutional consortium. Partners include the DRC’s National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), the international medical organization ALIMA, the University of Oxford, and the WHO.
Tedros indicated that community engagement will be a central component of the research process. “WHO and our partners are working closely with communities to inform and involve them in the trial,” he said. “We are also working to ensure that communities have access to treatments if they prove to be safe and effective.” This emphasis on community involvement reflects lessons learned from earlier Ebola responses, where mistrust and limited local engagement hampered both research enrollment and outbreak control.
Establishing an evidence base for Bundibugyo-specific treatments would fill a critical gap in the global health security toolkit, where therapeutic coverage across Ebola virus strains has historically been uneven. A successful trial could also accelerate regulatory pathways for these drugs and strengthen preparedness frameworks for future filovirus outbreaks.
Additional details on trial protocols and timelines are expected to be released by WHO and its partners in the coming week.
Sources and further reading:
Ebola in DRC: WHO launches clinical trial of two experimental treatments starting next week – Radio Okapi
Radio Okapi is a United Nations radio station operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, managed by MONUSCO (the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC).