The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has approved the use of five investigational therapeutics to treat Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). This marks the first time such treatments have been available in the midst of an Ebola outbreak in the country. The WHO said four of the five approved drugs are currently in the country, which are Zmapp, GS-5734, REGN monoclonal antibody combination, and mAb114, under the framework of compassionate use and expanded access.
Clinicians working in the treatment centres will make decisions on which drug to use as deemed helpful for their patients, and appropriate for the setting.
The treatments can be used as long as informed consent is obtained from patients and protocols are followed, with close monitoring and reporting of any adverse events.
Earlier in May, WHO convened a group of independent scientific experts to evaluate investigational therapeutics for EVD during the current outbreak in the DRC.
They found that there are many pathogens for which no proven effective intervention exists.
For some pathogens, there may be interventions that have shown promising safety and efficacy in the laboratory and in relevant animal models, but that have not yet been evaluated for safety and efficacy in humans.
Under normal circumstances, such interventions undergo testing in clinical trials that are capable of generating reliable evidence about safety and efficacy.
WHO however, said in the context of an outbreak characterized by high mortality, it can be ethically appropriate to offer individual patients investigational interventions on an emergency basis outside clinical trials.
According to WHO statistics, as of Wednesday, a total of 58 EVD cases have been reported, including 27 deaths, 37 lab-confirmed, 14 probable and seven suspected cases.
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