National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases launches ZMapp Ebola trial with Liberia

The USA’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has launched a clinical trial with the Liberian government on the safety and efficacy of ZMapp, developed by Mapp Biopharma, as a treatment for Ebola.

It is composed of three monoclonal antibodies, and is designed to prevent the progression of Ebola by targeting the main surface protein of the virus. Studies in non-human primates demonstrated that ZMapp has strong antiviral activity and prevented death as late as five days post-infection with Zaire Ebola virus. The drug has not yet been tested in human clinical trials, but was administered under emergency use authorization to nine infected patients in Africa, the USA, and Western Europe.

Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said: “Although ZMapp has been used to treat several Ebola-infected patients in recent months, we cannot determine if the drug actually benefitted those patients because it was not administered within the context of a clinical trial. This clinical trial will help us determine if ZMapp and other treatments are safe and effective for use in the current devastating outbreak in West Africa as well as in future outbreaks.”