Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital will take part in an international multifacility trial evaluating the efficacy of experimental Ebola treatment called ZMapp, the hospital announced Oct. 2.
Here are four things to know:
1. ZMapp was previously studied during the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa and is currently available in the U.S. and Africa under an FDA expanded access protocol.
2. Despite ZMapp's deployment in the current Ebola outbreak hitting the Democratic Republic of Congo, the drug is still experimental and requires additional research.
3. For the clinical trial, researchers will track outcomes of eligible Ebola patients treated with ZMapp at Massachusetts General. In 2015, HHS designated the hospital as a Regional Ebola and Other Special Pathogens Treatment Center.
4. Several federal agencies are funding the study, including the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Responseand HHS. "While there are currently no patients with Ebola in the United States, having ready access to experimental therapeutics such as ZMapp has been a priority for MGH, in our role as the Regional Ebola and Other Special Pathogens Treatment Center (RESPTC)," Erica Shenoy, MD, PhD, associate chief of the MGH infection control unit, medical director of the hospital's Biothreats Care Unity and the study's local principal investigator, said. "In recent years we’ve seen an increased push to find effective treatments, and we recognize the importance of contributing to those efforts by making ZMapp available to patients if needed and advancing its further study."