The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to evaluate two experimental treatments for Bundibugyo Virus Disease (BVD), a rare strain of Ebola.

In May, WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern due to the growing spread of the virus and the risk of cross-border transmission. However, the agency noted that the outbreak does not currently meet the criteria for a global pandemic emergency under international health regulations.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned on Wednesday that the ongoing Ebola crisis in Central and East Africa could cost the continent up to $3.6 billion in economic output and result in the loss of more than 328,000 jobs if the virus spreads beyond existing hotspots.

In a statement issued on Thursday, WHO said the Platform Adaptive Randomised Trial for New and Repurposed Filovirus Treatments (PARTNERS) will assess the effectiveness of two antiviral therapies—monoclonal antibody MBP134 and remdesivir—in improving survival rates among patients diagnosed with BVD.

The study will also examine whether a combination of both treatments offers greater benefits than either therapy alone.

According to WHO, the trial is sponsored by the organization and coordinated by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in the DRC, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium, and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The agency disclosed that since the outbreak began, more than 1,400 people have been diagnosed with BVD in the DRC, with nearly 210 recoveries and about 440 deaths recorded.

“While effective treatments have been developed for Ebola virus disease, none are currently approved for Bundibugyo virus disease, and no treatment has been shown to work across all virus types that cause Ebola diseases,” WHO stated.

The organization added that the treatments selected for the trial were recommended by its technical advisory group after extensive reviews of scientific evidence, including preclinical studies, safety data, and findings from previous outbreak responses.

Participants enrolled in the trial will receive close monitoring and follow-up care for at least 28 days after enrolment.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed optimism that the research could significantly improve survival outcomes.

“Even without approved therapeutics, people are recovering from this disease, but we could save many more lives with safe and effective therapeutics in our toolkit,” he said.

“The PARTNERS trial, established with national authorities and scientific partners in record time, offers real hope that we can deliver concrete results for and with the communities at the heart of the outbreak.”

Amanda Rojek, operations lead for the PARTNERS trial and Associate Professor of Health Emergencies at University of Oxford, emphasized the importance of conducting research during outbreaks rather than waiting until they end.

“We urgently need treatments that can help people affected by Bundibugyo virus disease. One of the key lessons from recent outbreaks is that research needs to happen alongside the response, not after it,” she said.