Antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of Ebola virus infection

Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2016 Oct:30:138-143. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2016.08.016.

Abstract

There have been significant developments in Ebola virus therapeutics. While the efficacy of several products was evaluated in the recent West Africa outbreak, a licensed treatment for EBOV disease remains elusive. Factors that negatively impacted the execution of clinical trials included an overall lack of world readiness to conduct clinical trials in an outbreak setting, ethical concerns limiting implementation of the randomized controlled trials in an outbreak setting, and a decline in case numbers by the time resources were mobilized to conduct clinical trials. We summarize relevant therapeutics that underwent clinical trials during the West Africa outbreak and highlight promising candidates under advanced development.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Africa, Western / epidemiology
  • Animals
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Drug Design
  • Ebolavirus / drug effects*
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / drug therapy*
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / epidemiology
  • Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / virology
  • Humans
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / ethics
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / methods

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents