Two experimental Ebola drugs under review in the Democratic Republic of Congo already seem to be saving the lives of many affected by the deadly virus, health authorities announced.
The two drugs — one developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the other by researchers with the US National Institutes of Health, which helped fund the study — are antibodies that block the virus.
Research has determined that there is already an effective, though experimental vaccine against Ebola — and it’s being used in Congo — but no studies have indicated what treatments are most effective to treat those who are already infected.
During the outbreak in West Africa several years ago, studies pointed to an antibody mixture known as ZMapp, but its effectiveness has yet to be clearly proven.
So in Congo, researchers decided to compare ZMapp to the Regeneron compound, the one developed by the NIH, called mAb114, and an antiviral drug known as remdesivir.
A panel determined that the Regeneron compound was clearly the most effective in fighting Ebola, with the NIH antibody a close second, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the NIH told the Associated Press on Monday.
The research revealed that far fewer Ebola patients died among those given either the Regeneron drug or the NIH’s — about 30 percent compared to half under the ZMapp treatment.
Remarkably, when clients sought care before too much virus spread into their bloodstream, the mortality rate was a mere 6 percent with the Regeneron drug and 11 percent with the NIH’s. The mortality rate for those using ZMapp under the same circumstances was 24 percent.
The evidence was strong enough to call a halt to the trial — and to prioritize the use of those two drugs in Congo.
Fauci called the development ��very good news.”
“We may be able to improve the survival of people with Ebola,” he said.
About three-quarters of people who go untreated in the current outbreak die, Dr. Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization told the AP.
Since the two successful experimental drugs are accessible by all of Congo’s Ebola treatment units, Ryan is hopeful that the development will encourage more of those affected to immediately seek care.
“Getting people into care more quickly is absolutely vital,” Ryan said. “The fact that we have very clear evidence now on the effectiveness of the drugs, we need to get that message out to communities.”
Still, the data is preliminary, Fauci emphasized, and researchers will conduct further studies to determine exactly how well the compounds work.
With Post wires