The United States is sending doses of an experimental Ebola treatment to Africa to help contain an ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak, health officials said on Friday.
Experimental Treatment
The measures, led by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) through its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), are intended to support response efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
The Bundibugyo strain currently has no approved vaccines or treatments, underscoring the need for experimental countermeasures. ASPR is supporting the transfer of doses of MBP134, an experimental monoclonal antibody therapy developed with Mapp Biopharmaceutical, for compassionate use in the affected countries.
BARDA has pre-positioned 2,500 rapid diagnostic tests for potential deployment to Africa to help detect infections and guide public health responses. In parallel, BARDA is advancing vaccine development targeted at the Bundibugyo strain through a request for proposals seeking candidates based on the same platform used for Merck’s Ervebo, the first U.S.-approved Ebola vaccine, which targets the Zaire strain.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
