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Review
. 2021 Mar 18:15:79-86.
doi: 10.2147/BTT.S259069. eCollection 2021.

Immunotherapeutics for Ebola Virus Disease: Hope on the Horizon

Kyle L O'Donnell  1 , Andrea Marzi  1
Affiliations
Review

Immunotherapeutics for Ebola Virus Disease: Hope on the Horizon

Kyle L O'Donnell et al. Biologics. .

Abstract

Ebola virus disease (EVD) remains among the biggest public health threats in Africa, even though recently a vaccine was approved for human use. However, in outbreak situations treatment strategies are needed in combination with vaccination campaigns to impact and stop the spread of the disease. Here, we discuss the development of the immunotherapeutics against EDV both targeting the virus itself and bolstering the immunological environment of the host at both the pre-clinical and clinical level. The early development of antibody therapy in preclinical settings and the early pitfalls in the implementation of this therapeutic strategy are discussed. We also consider the advancement of the production, modulation, and specificity of the antibody treatment that garnered increased success in preclinical studies to the point that it was warranted to test them in a clinical setting. Initial clinical trials in an outbreak scenario proved difficult to definitively confirm the efficacy of the implemented treatment. Upon further modification and with the experiences from the challenging outbreak conditions in mind, the PALM clinical trial demonstrated efficacy of an antibody cocktail which recently received approval for human use.

Keywords: Ebolaviruses; filovirus; immune response; interferon; monoclonal antibodies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic of the cellular and physiological targets of immunotherapeutics against EVD. Immunotherapeutics can target the virus directly such as neutralizing antibodies, or they can target cellular processes or receptors. Immunotherapeutics can also be cell stimulators such as interferon treatment to bolster the antiviral response.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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