Two Ebola treatments halve deaths in trial in DRC outbreak

A clinical trial conducted in the midst of an Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has identified two new drugs that can dramatically cut mortality from the disease, and both are being immediately offered to all patients in an effort to control the country’s worst ever outbreak. The Pamoja Tulinde Maisha (“together save lives” in Swahili) trial began last November, in four towns stricken by the outbreak. It compared four potential treatments proposed by four different companies: ZMapp, remdesivir, mAb114, and REGN-EB3. Preliminary data has convinced the trial’s monitoring board to stop the study and …