In December 2019, the FDA approved Ervebo, the first-ever Ebola vaccine. However, despite preventative measures, there still was never any actually approved treatment options – until now. Recently, the FDA announced its approval of Regeneron’s Inmazeb, a mixture of three monoclonal antibodies (atoltivimab, maftivimab, and odesivimab-ebgn) for the treatment of patients with Ebola virus.

Inmazeb

This monoclonal antibody combination is approved to treat Zaire ebolavirus (Ebola virus) for both pediatric and adult patients. The American Cancer Society defines monoclonal antibodies as:

man-made proteins that act like human antibodies in the immune system. There are 4 different ways they can be made:

• Murine: These are made from mouse proteins and the names of the treatments end in -omab.
• Chimeric: These proteins are a combination of part mouse and part human and the names of the treatments end in -ximab.
• Humanized: These are made from small parts of mouse proteins attached to human proteins and the names of the treatments end in -zumab
• Human: These are fully human proteins and the names of the treatments end in -umab.

In this case, the three monoclonal antibodies help Inmazeb bind to glycoprotein on the Ebola virus’ surface. By doing so, Inmazeb prevents the glycoprotein to allow the virus to enter into healthy cells and infect the body.

Researchers evaluated the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of Inmazeb in the PALM study. Within the trial, which took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 154 patients received 150mg intravenously administered Inmazeb (50mg of each antibody). 168 patients received a control. 52 patients receiving Inmazeb died within 28 days. However, 86 patients receiving a control died in the same time. Following the trial, 228 patients received Inmazeb in an expanded access program.

Side effects include:

• Rapid breathing
• Fast heart rate
• Fever
• Chills
• Nausea and vomiting

So far, Inmazeb received Orphan Drug and Breakthrough Therapy designations from the FDA.

Ebola

There are multiple strains of the Ebola virus. However, in nearly all cases, ebola is a rare viral disease that can be transmitted through contact with infected people or animals. Generally, symptom onset occurs within 2 days to 3 weeks following infection. However, most people experience symptoms within 8-10 days. Symptoms progress from dry (fatigue, muscle aches) to wet (vomiting, diarrhea). These symptoms include:

• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Joint pain
• Fatigue
• Severe headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Severe stomach pain
• Unexplained bruising and bleeding
• Skin rashes
• Confusion
• Sore throat
• Coughing up blood

Learn more about ebola.