Over 250 join trial of Gilead's obeldesivir as Ebola prevention pill in Congo

More than 250 people have enrolled in a clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo testing whether an experimental antiviral pill can stop them contracting Ebola, the Associated Press reported on 3 October.

The trial, named EBO-PEP, is evaluating obeldesivir, an oral antiviral developed by Gilead Sciences, as post-exposure prophylaxis: medicine given soon after suspected contact with the virus to prevent the disease from developing. It targets the Bundibugyo virus behind Congo’s fast-moving outbreak, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists.

The study began in July at a health centre in Rwampara, in the eastern province of Ituri, the epicentre of the outbreak, and is one of several launched to find some protection and another way of slowing the epidemic. Participants include health workers and relatives of patients who have been exposed to confirmed cases. One participant told AP she enrolled in August after her husband tested positive; no one in her family has developed symptoms.

The trial is coordinated by the medical nonprofit ALIMA, with Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research and France’s ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases as partners. It aims to recruit nearly 1,000 adults and children over 12 who have had contact with a confirmed case within the previous five days but show no symptoms; half receive a placebo. Participants are seen in person every day for 21 days, with a final phone call after 42 days, according to Dr Godefroid Basara, who is working on the trial.

“If the pill proves effective, it could help break the infection chain,” the report said. ALIMA research coordinator Dr Guilavogui Jean Paul Yassa said: “It differs from a vaccine, which may take days or weeks to provide protection. It is also different from curative treatment because it is intended for people who are not yet showing symptoms.”

The trial runs against a worsening backdrop. At least 8,300 confirmed cases, including 4,000 deaths, have been recorded since the outbreak was declared in mid-May across seven provinces, and authorities say it continues to outpace efforts to track and slow it. Congo has also begun vaccinating health workers with the Ervebo vaccine used in earlier Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common virus, though whether it offers protection against Bundibugyo is still being studied.

Sources

• Associated Press, “Inside the study for a remedy to fight Congo’s deadliest Ebola outbreak”, 3 October 2026, republished by Arab News Pakistan: https://www.arabnews.pk/world/inside-the-study-for-a-remedy-to-fight-congos-deadliest-ebola-outbreak-3003085
• Associated Press, same report, republished by Manila Bulletin, 3 October 2026: https://mb.com.ph/2026/10/03/inside-the-study-for-a-remedy-to-fight-congos-deadliest-ebola-outbreak