Ebola treatment: New pill can heal the fatal viral disease, experiment on monkeys

Scientists try to develop more practical and affordable treatment of Ebola. According to a new study, an experiment on monkeys has shown that Ebola can only be healed with a pill.

Ebola, a fatal viral disease, was exceeded by bats to humans in 1976, which was discovered in 1976. The disease spreads through contact with body fluids, which leads to severe bleeding and organ failure.

Since most Ebola eruptions take place in Africa south of the Sahara, most pharmaceutical companies have no financial incentives to produce more treatment options for people there. In view of the sporadic nature of virus spread, clinical studies were difficult.

A vaccine was only widespread in 2019. While two antibody treatments can help, they are expensive, need cooling stores and are difficult to use in some of the poorest areas in the world.

“We really try to develop something that was more practical and easier to use and can be used to prevent, control and contain outbursts,” Thomas Geisbert, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, who was heading the new study published in Science Advances, to the AFP news agency.

Everything about the experimental pill

For the experiment, Geisbert and his colleagues tested the antiviral Obeldesive, the oral form of intravenous remdesivir, which was originally developed for Covid-19.

Obeldesivir is a polymerase inhibitor, which means that an enzyme is crucial for virus replication.

Researchers infected two types of monkeys, Rhesus and Cynomolgus -Makaken, with a high dose of the Ebola virus (Makona variant).

A day later, ten monkeys received a daily Obeldesive pill for ten days, while three others received no treatment and died.

The drug worked well and protected 80% of the cynomolgus makacks and all Rhesus -Makaken that are more similar to humans.

Obeldesivir not only removed the blood of the monkeys, but also helped to build up their immune systems, antibodies and prevent organ damage.

Geisbert said that the study included a few monkeys, but was still scientifically strong. The monkeys were exposed to an extremely high dose of the virus – 30,000 – times the fatal dose for humans – so fewer controls were needed, which reduces unnecessary acts of tage.

Challenges of the current Ebola treatments

Geisbert, who has been studying Ebola since the 1980s, said that an exciting characteristic of Obeldesivir is his ability to protect itself from several types of Ebola, in contrast to existing antibody treatments that only work against the Zaire strain. “It's a great advantage,” he said.

Current treatments for Ebola include the injections approved by the US FDA: Inmazeb (a combination of three monoclonal antibodies) and EBanga (a single monoclonal antibody), which are prevented by preventing the virus to get into cells.

Gilead, the manufacturer of the drug, is now testing Obeldesivir in phase -2 studies for the Marburg virus, a close relative of Ebola.

Geisbert also emphasized the importance of financing the US government for such research. He noticed that most of the money for the development of Ebola drugs and vaccines comes from the government, and warned that the latest financing reductions under President Donald Trump could slow down progress.

“I think most people would agree that we need treatments for Ebola,” he said.