WHO recommends two monoclonal antibody treatments for Ebola
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WHO has recommended two monoclonal antibody treatments for Ebola virus disease.
The treatments, mAb114 and REGN-EB3, were effective in a groundbreaking randomized controlled trial of four therapies conducted during a large outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They are both approved by the FDA.
WHO made a “strong” recommendation for the two therapies in its first-ever guideline for Ebola therapeutics, published Friday. It made conditional recommendations against the other two therapies tested in the trial, remdesivir and ZMapp.
Richard Kojan, MD, who co-chaired the guideline development group of experts selected by WHO, said the guideline “will help reassure the communities, health care workers and patients that this life-threatening disease can be treated thanks to effective drugs.”
The monoclonal antibody mAb114 was isolated from a survivor of a 1995 Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, DRC. REGN-EB3 is a mixture of three monoclonal antibodies: atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab-ebgn.
WHO called for increased access to the two treatments, which the authors of the guideline noted are in limited supply.
“Access to these therapeutics is challenging and pricing and future supply remain unknown, especially in resource-poor areas,” they wrote. “Without concerted effort, access will remain limited, and it is therefore possible that this strong recommendation could exacerbate health inequity. Therefore, given the demonstrated benefits for patients, these recommendations should act as a stimulus to engage all possible mechanisms to improve global access to these treatments.”
References:
- WHO makes new recommendations for Ebola treatments, calls for improved access. https://www.who.int/news/item/19-08-2022-who-makes-new-recommendations-for-ebola-treatments-----calls-for-improved-access. Published Aug. 19, 2022. Accessed Aug. 19, 2022.
- WHO. Therapeutics for Ebola virus disease. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240055742. Published Aug. 19, 2022. Accessed Aug. 19, 2022.
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