WHO Prioritizes Ebola Bundibugyo Treatments

The World Health Organization has recommended prioritizing three experimental treatments for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola: Mapp Biopharmaceutical's MBP134, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' maftivimab, and Gilead Sciences' remdesivir. These, along with other vaccine candidates, are to be evaluated in clinical trials due to an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Gilead Sciences' obeldesivir was also highlighted for post-exposure prevention. Among vaccine candidates, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's rVSV Bundibugyo is considered most promising, while University of Oxford and Serum Institute of India's ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo could be ready for testing sooner. Merck & Co.'s licensed Ebola vaccine, Ervebo, was reviewed but not recommended for the Bundibugyo strain outside research settings. The World Health Organization is collaborating with authorities in the affected countries and partners like United States — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement these trials.