Abstract
Despite sporadic outbreaks of Ebola virus (EBOV) over the last 4 decades and the recent public health emergency in West Africa, there are still no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the treatment of acute EBOV disease (EVD). In response to the 2014 outbreak, an ovine immunoglobulin therapy was developed, termed EBOTAb. After promising results in the guinea pig model of EBOV infection, EBOTAb was tested in the cynomolgus macaque non-human primate model of lethal EBOV infection. To ensure stringent therapeutic testing conditions to replicate likely clinical usage, EBOTAb was first delivered 1, 2 or 3 days post-challenge with a lethal dose of EBOV. Results showed a protective effect of EBOTAb given post-exposurally, with survival rates decreasing with increasing time after challenge. Viremia results demonstrated that EBOTAb resulted in a decreased circulation of EBOV in the bloodstream. Additionally, assay of liver enzymes and histology analysis of local tissues identified differences between EBOTAb-treated and untreated groups. The results presented demonstrate that EBOTAb conferred protection against EBOV when given post-exposure and should be explored and developed further as a potential intervention strategy for future outbreaks, which are likely to occur.
Highlights
Despite sporadic outbreaks of Ebola virus (EBOV) over the last 4 decades and the recent public health emergency in West Africa, there are still no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the treatment of acute EBOV disease (EVD)
All EBOTAb-treated animals lost weight during the course of the study. The weight of those which survived to day 14 post-challenge had increased indicating a recovery from EBOV infection
The results reported provide the first evidence demonstrating the protective efficacy of an ovine pAb therapy against EBOV in a non-human primate (NHP) model
Summary
Despite sporadic outbreaks of Ebola virus (EBOV) over the last 4 decades and the recent public health emergency in West Africa, there are still no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the treatment of acute EBOV disease (EVD). The results presented demonstrate that EBOTAb conferred protection against EBOV when given post-exposure and should be explored and developed further as a potential intervention strategy for future outbreaks, which are likely to occur. The largest outbreak of EBOV occurred in Western Africa and was first recognised in March 20146, resulting in more deaths than all previous outbreaks combined This large outbreak catalysed increased efforts to identify and evaluate potential prophylactic and therapeutic options. In response to the 2014 West Africa EBOV outbreak, an ovine immunoglobulin preparation was rapidly developed, termed EBOTAb, which demonstrated neutralisation activity and exhibited promising results in the EBOV guinea pig model[27, 28]. The logical step for the preclinical testing of EBOTAb to demonstrate its potential utility for clinical development was assessment in a NHP model of EBOV infection. To ensure that EBOTAb was tested stringently, dosing was initiated at either 1, 2 or 3 days post-challenge with a lethal dose of EBOV
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
