The road to effective and accessible antibody therapies against Ebola virus

Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreaks can claim thousands of lives, cripple healthcare systems and local economies. Effective vaccines and treatments against EBOV are therefore needed to limit the impact of this deadly disease. In 2019, a hallmark clinical trial demonstrated the efficacy of monoclonal antibody (mAb) against EBOV. Despite, this recent success, survival of individuals with high viremia remains low. Effective immunotherapies against other Ebolavirus species are still under pre-clinical development. More importantly, the cost of immunotherapies is prohibitive to most individual and affected countries. Novel manufacturing and administration strategies of mAb protein or genetic information could substantially reduce the cost of immunotherapies; hence making them valuable tools against EBOV and other infectious agents.

Automated summary

Ebola virus outbreaks are highly damaging and effective vaccines and treatments are needed. Although monoclonal antibody therapy has shown promise, survival rates for individuals with high viral load are still low and immunotherapies for other Ebola virus species are in pre-clinical development. The high cost of immunotherapies also limits their accessibility. Novel manufacturing and administration strategies could significantly reduce the cost of immunotherapies, making them valuable tools against Ebola virus and other infectious agents.