WHO recommends use of two antibody drugs against Ebola
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[August 19, 2022]
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health
Organization (WHO) on Friday recommended two monoclonal antibody
treatments against Ebola, saying the use of such drugs combined with
better care had "revolutionised" the treatment of a disease once seen as
a near-certain killer.
The drugs - Regeneron's Inmazeb (REGN-EB3) and Ridgeback Bio's Ebanga
(mAb114) - use laboratory-made monoclonal antibodies that mimic natural
antibodies in fighting off infections.
"Advances in supportive care and therapeutics over the past decade have
revolutionized the treatment of Ebola. Ebola virus disease used to be
perceived as a near certain killer. However, that is no longer the
case," said Robert Fowler, a professor at the University of Toronto,
Canada, and co-chair of WHO's guideline development group. Effective
care and the use of these treatments now leads to the recovery of the
"vast majority" of people from Ebola, he said, without giving specific
data.
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![](../images/081922PIX/health1.jpg)
Workers fix an Ebola awareness poster in
Tchomia, Democratic Republic of Congo, to raise awareness about
Ebola in the local community, on October 9, 2018. WHO/Aboulaye Cisse/Handout
via REUTERS/Files
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/19/images/ads/current/atlantabank_lda_FAIR_2022.png) The new recommendations follow
trials of the drugs against the hemorrhagic fever in Democratic
Republic of Congo during a 2018-2020 outbreak there. Dr Janet Diaz,
lead of the clinical management unit in WHO's Health Emergencies
programme, told journalists the drugs were currently available in
Congo but more work was needed to improve affordability.
"Pathways to access is a priority to work on right now," she said.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Mark Potter)
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