Ebola Could Be Treated With A Pill, Promising Monkey Study Ignites Hope

Monkeys infected with Ebola can be cured using a pill, a new study has found which could revolutionise the fight against the deadly virus. Thomas Geisbert, a virologist at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, who led the study, published in Science Advances stated that his team tested the antiviral Obeldesivir, the oral form of intravenous Remdesivir, originally developed for Covid-19 as the potential cure medicine.

The researchers infected rhesus and cynomolgus macaques with a high dose of the Makona variant of the Ebola virus. Afterwards, 10 monkeys received an Obeldesivirpill daily while three control money received no treatment and died.

Meanwhile, the pill protected 80 per cent of the cynomolgus macaques and 100 per cent of the rhesus macaques, which are biologically closer to humans. Mr Geisbert said although the number of monkeys used in the trial was relatively small, the results were statistically powerful. The monkeys were given an Ebola virus dose which is roughly 30,000 times the lethal dose for humans.

He added that Obeldesivir's "broad-spectrum" protection, compared to other antibody treatments that only work against the Zaire strain, was a "huge advantage".

"These findings suggest that ODV treatment affords the opportunity for the development of adaptive immunity while mitigating excessive inflammation, potentially preventing fatal outcomes," the study highlighted.

Most Ebola outbreaks affect sub-Saharan Africa where the health infrastructure is not capable of handling the antibody treatments that require costly cold storage. Additionally, providing treatments in some of the poorest regions becomes an almighty challenge, which stops the pharma companies from developing antidotes.

Mr Geisbert said his colleagues were "really trying to come up with something" that was more practical, easier to use and "that could be used to help prevent, control, and contain outbreaks".

Based on the encouraging results, US-based pharma giant Gilead has already advanced Obeldesivir to Phase 2 clinical trials for the Marburg virus, a close relative of Ebola.

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What is Ebola?

Ebola is a viral haemorrhagic fever that was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The virus' natural reservoir animal is suspected to be a species of fruit bat, which does not itself fall ill but can pass the disease on to primates, including humans.

Six of the virus species are known to cause disease in humans -- Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Reston, Tai Forest and Bombali. The first three have resulted in serious outbreaks in Africa, but Zaire has caused the vast majority of cases over the last decade.