Drug Blocks Ebola-like Virus in Monkey Tests

The control group included monkeys that were sickened with Marburg
virus but were not given the treatment. They all died, beginning one
week after they were infected.

The discovery that the treatment worked even three days into the
monkeys' infections shows "real world utility of this technology,"
Geisbert told reporters.

Experts are hopeful that such a treatment could be useful because
symptoms of Marburg virus begin showing themselves around that time.

Ebola, too, usually becomes symptomatic within two to 10 days of
infection, though the incubation period can last as long as 21 days.

"The significance of delaying treatment until three days after
infection, which is the earliest time at which diagnosis by viral RNA
can be detected and those infected show the first clinical signs of
disease, is a critical step in triggering clinical interventions,"
said Ian MacLachlan, executive vice president and chief technical
officer of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals.

The researchers published a study in The Lancet in 2010 that showed
the same technology could be used to create a treatment that would
completely protect rhesus monkeys against Ebola, Geisbert said.

For it to be deployed for "compassionate use during this outbreak" in
people, there would have to be "a situation where a country or someone
would request that from the company," he told reporters.

He added that there were "no problems" in terms of side effects with
the doses given in the monkey tests.

Tekmira has begun phase one trials to test safety in people, and in
March the company said it was granted a Fast-Track designation by the
US Food and Drug Administration to develop its drug, TKM-Ebola.

The drug works by interfering with how Ebolas grows once it penetrates
the cells of the body.

Another experimental Ebola drug, ZMapp, works differently, by
delivering the body a cocktail of antibodies that target different
parts of the Ebola virus.
ZMapp has been given to a handful of people who were sickened in the
latest outbreak, including to American missionaries, but it is
difficult to make in large amounts.

Geisbert said the Tekmira product could be replicated "relatively
quickly," given the proper funding.

Experts say that getting enough money to pay for trials and
development has been a key challenge for drug makers, due the history
of sporadic outbreaks in Africa.