New Pill Cures Monkeys Infected with Ebola, Offering Hope for Affordable Human Treatment

A groundbreaking study released Friday reveals that monkeys infected with Ebola can be cured with a pill, a discovery that could lead to more practical and affordable treatments for humans. The study, led by virologist Thomas Geisbert at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, tested the antiviral Obeldesivir, an oral version of the intravenous treatment Remdesivir, originally developed for COVID-19.

Ebola, identified in 1976, remains a deadly viral disease primarily affecting sub-Saharan Africa. Despite efforts to control the virus, treatment options have been limited, with vaccines approved only in 2019 and antibody treatments requiring costly cold storage. The new research, published in Science Advances, offers a potential breakthrough in the battle against Ebola by providing an easily administered pill.

In the experiment, rhesus and cynomolgus macaques were infected with the Makona variant of Ebola, with some monkeys receiving Obeldesivir daily for ten days. The results were promising: 80% of cynomolgus macaques and 100% of rhesus macaques survived, with the drug clearing the virus from their blood and triggering an immune response that helped them develop antibodies while preventing organ damage.

Geisbert emphasized the significance of this treatment, noting its “broad-spectrum” protection against various Ebola strains, unlike current antibody treatments that only target the Zaire species. With support from the US National Institutes of Health, Gilead is advancing Obeldesivir to Phase 2 trials for Marburg virus, a close relative of Ebola.

While the study involved a relatively small number of monkeys, it provided compelling evidence due to the exceptionally high viral dose used in the experiment, which was 30,000 times higher than the lethal dose for humans. Geisbert hopes that the new treatment will eventually become a game-changer for global Ebola containment efforts.