U.S., Liberia kick off trial of Ebola drug ZMapp

U.S. and Liberian researchers have started a clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc’s Ebola drug ZMapp, an experimental treatment that has already been tried in a handful of Ebola patients, including two U.S. missionaries. The trial, a joint effort by the Liberian government and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will be conducted in Liberia and the United States among adults and children infected with Ebola, NIAID said on Friday. Although ZMapp has been used on a humanitarian basis in nine infected patients, there was no way to tell whether the treatment offered a statistically significant benefit, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, said in a statement.

There is certainly a possibility that we may not get enough patients to finish. You can be certain that sooner or later, we will see another outbreak in one or more of the African countries.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told The Associated Press

The trial will enroll adults and children admitted to Ebola treatment units in Liberia, health care workers infected with Ebola virus in West Africa who have returned to the United States for treatment, and adults and children who may have acquired Ebola in the United States through secondary transmission. The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is funding the production of ZMapp, a cocktail of antibodies made in tobacco plants. If ZMapp proves effective, it will become part of the standard of care and a new treatment will be randomly assigned to portion of the patients. The trial is expected to conclude in December 2016, although scientists say they may need to be flexible as the Ebola epidemic wanes.

Health Ebola