Experimental vaccines and therapeutics to combat the deadly Marburg virus have been scheduled to arrive in Rwanda this weekend, where they will be utilized in clinical trials set to commence shortly, as confirmed by a U.S. government official on Friday.
Marburg, a virus closely related to the Ebola family, currently lacks licensed vaccines or drugs for prevention or treatment. While Marburg outbreaks are typically smaller in scale, the fatality rates are equally high to those of Ebola infections.
Rwanda is facing its first-ever Marburg outbreak, with a recorded case count of 41 individuals, resulting in 12 fatalities. Alarmingly, over 80% of the confirmed cases are among healthcare workers, many of whom contracted the virus at a major health facility in the capital city of Kigali.
The country has agreed to conduct clinical trials promptly, with Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana expressing readiness to begin within days during a press conference organized by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The primary focus is on saving the lives of healthcare providers.
Nsanzimana refrained from disclosing details about the trial design, including whether multiple vaccines or therapeutics would be compared or tested against a placebo. However, it is expected that two potential therapeutic options will be available in Rwanda – Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir and Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s experimental monoclonal antibody MBP-091.
Gilead is supplying 5,000 doses of remdesivir, which is approved in the U.S. for treating Covid-19 and has been previously investigated for Ebola treatment. The U.S. government is providing doses of the vaccine and monoclonal antibody, developed with the support of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The single-dose vaccine, originally designed by the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center and now under development by the Sabin Vaccine Institute, will also be deployed in Rwanda with 700 doses. The Sabin vaccine is considered the most advanced in the pipeline of experimental Marburg vaccines, currently undergoing a Phase 2 trial in Uganda and Kenya.
Nancy Sullivan, director of Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, led the research for the vaccine’s design and emphasized the collaborative efforts of the World Health Organization and partners to expedite vaccine and drug testing for rare diseases like Marburg.
The preparedness and swift actions of Rwanda in response to the outbreak have been commended, with Amy Finan, CEO of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, highlighting the critical partnership with the Rwandan government and the country’s robust health infrastructure. The cooperation and readiness of all stakeholders involved are crucial in containing and eradicating the Marburg outbreak in Rwanda.
