Led by Oxford University from the United Kingdom, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, the trial aims to determine if the anti-viral drug brincidofovir is an effective treatment for Ebola.
 
Taking part in the trial is completely voluntary and the trial is designed without a control group (a group that does not receive the medication) in order to include as many Ebola positive patients as possible.
Whilst MSF hopes that brincidofovir might reduce deaths from Ebola, it must be stressed that it is not a miracle cure and it is still not known whether it will help patients survive the virus.
 
“The drug, brincidofovir, will not be available at the medicine store, only under the specific conditions of the trial at ELWA 3” says Dr Jake Dunning, Trial Clinical Lead from Oxford University. 
 
“We know that is has been taken safely by over 1,000 people in clinical trials for other viral infections and we know that is has been shown to be effective in laboratory tests that use Ebola-infected cells. What we do not know yet is if it will be effective against Ebola in humans - this is why we must do a trial,” he added.
 
All new patients confirmed to be Ebola positive by blood test at ELWA 3 will be informed about the trial and can decide whether they would like to participate or not.
 
Those who do not wish to be given the new treatment will receive the same standard supportive care as those who do, said an MSF release.
 
The drug will not offer any benefit to people who do not have Ebola and it will only be given to those with confirmed Ebola.
 
The trial is running with the approval of the Liberian Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority, and ethics committees from the University of Liberia, MSF and Oxford University.
 
It is expected that the first results will be available in February 2015.
LINA