The US will provide an experimental Ebola drug to DR Congo for a clinical trial in the region.
Washington initially said the MBP134 drug cocktail from California’s Mapp Biopharmaceutical would only be used on Americans, but the trial could help with eventual US regulatory approval. The WHO also said trials for Remdesivir, used to treat COVID-19, would start next week for Ebola patients.
Slowing the virus’ spread has been hampered by the fact that there is no known treatment or vaccine for the new Bundibugyo strain. Scientists are racing to develop four vaccines, two of which could be ready for clinical trials in two months, the head of a global vaccine coalition recently told Semafor. But disagreements over pathogen sharing have slowed lab testing to produce new treatments and vaccines, Bloomberg reported.