Updated time lines of the IF-Ebola action, July 2015
Aims
To study the safety and efficacy of using antibodies produced in horses against Ebola virus
infection, as a passive immunity treatment for infected patients.
To identify the early and optimal period of infection to efficiently apply this
immunotherapy, using an original highly sensitive diagnosis.
To develop complementary methods including, among others: Next Generation
Sequencing and metagenomic-associated analyses for primer design accuracy and identify
concurrent infection that could impair the treatment; residual Ebola virus RNA detection
among pre-convalescent patients before discharge.
State of play
Horse hyper-immunization started in January 2015. The antibodies from plasma from
hyper immunized horses exhibited strong neutralizing activities. To prepare the doses of
the antibodies that will be prepared for a compassionate usage among early-diagnosed
EBOV-infected patients, the project started two different assays in non-human primates
(BSL-4 lab in Lyon and in Fredrick, US). Following these in vivo tests a first product batch
of 5,000 doses are expected by September 2015. Once administered to patients,
antibodies specifically and immediately neutralize circulating viruses to ultimately hamper
the development of the disease.
In addition, technology-transfer have been done from the Montpellier Lab to different
labs of the IF-EBOLA consortium and mainly to the Immunology lab at the Kenema
Government Hospital in order to develop on site a hypersensitive diagnostic leading to
the use our very early treatment for infected patients. National health laboratory workers
have been selected to be trained on both patient management under immunotherapy
and laboratory diagnostic for highly infectious pathogens.
This work is being done along with deep meta-analysis algorithms of sequence data to
optimize primers for an accurate detection of present pathogens, including Ebola virus
and co-infections that could impair the treatment using the horse anti-Ebola antibodies.
Ultimate goal will be to identify patients in their early phase of infection (pre-clinical or
sub-clinical infection) in order to administrate Ebola virus neutralizing antibodies and
immediately neutralize low viremia of circulating viruses and ultimately hamper the
development of the disease. Moreover, very low virus load, under classical rtRT-PCR
threshold of recognition, are expected be detected by innovative hypersensitive
diagnostic technic and help to early identify infected contact for an early treatment.
IF-EBOLA Roadmap, August 10, 2015
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