The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a major international clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to evaluate potential treatments for Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), a rare strain of Ebola, as the country battles an ongoing outbreak.
According to a WHO statement issued on Thursday, the Platform Adaptive Randomised Trial for New and Repurposed Filovirus TreatmentS (PARTNERS) began enrolling patients on Thursday to assess whether two antiviral therapies—monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir—can reduce deaths caused by the disease.
The trial is sponsored by WHO and coordinated by the DRC’s Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium and the University of Oxford, with support from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and other international research, clinical and humanitarian partners.
Researchers will also investigate whether combining MBP134 and remdesivir offers greater benefits than using either treatment alone, a strategy that could improve survival rates among infected patients.
The trial comes as the DRC continues to face a severe Bundibugyo virus outbreak that has infected more than 1,400 people. Nearly 210 patients have recovered, while about 440 have died, highlighting the urgent need for effective treatment options.
Although medicines have been developed for some forms of Ebola virus disease, there are currently no approved treatments specifically for Bundibugyo virus disease, and no single therapy has proven effective against all Ebola virus species.
WHO said its Technical Advisory Group selected MBP134 and remdesivir after reviewing available scientific evidence, including laboratory findings, safety data and lessons from previous Ebola outbreaks.
Participants in the study will receive close medical supervision and be monitored for at least 28 days after enrolment.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said the trial offers renewed hope for patients and communities affected by the outbreak.
“While some patients recover without specific treatment, effective medicines could save many more lives. The PARTNERS trial, established with national authorities and scientific partners in record time, offers real hope that we can deliver concrete results for—and with—the communities at the heart of the outbreak,” he said.
WHO noted that the trial’s adaptive platform design allows researchers to evaluate additional therapies as they become available, enabling the study to respond rapidly to emerging scientific evidence during the outbreak.
Prof. Amanda Rojek, PARTNERS Trial Operations Lead at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, said one of the key lessons from previous outbreaks was that research should be conducted alongside emergency response efforts rather than after they have ended.
She said the study was designed to generate evidence quickly enough to inform patient care during the current outbreak, with findings potentially available within months.
INRB Director-General, Prof. Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, said integrating the trial into routine patient care would give patients access to promising investigational treatments while helping scientists generate evidence to strengthen responses to future outbreaks.
He said the randomised controlled trial is enrolling patients of all ages with confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease.
In addition to the investigational medicines, participants will receive standard supportive care, including intravenous or oral fluids, electrolyte replacement, oxygen therapy, blood pressure management and pain relief, in line with WHO treatment guidelines.
DRC Minister of Health, Dr Samuel Kamba, described the launch of the PARTNERS trial as a significant milestone in the country’s response to the outbreak, expressing confidence that the findings could identify more effective treatments, save lives and strengthen global preparedness for future Ebola epidemics.
Source: NAN
