Rwanda is set to apply antiviral drug remdesivir for emergency use in response to the ongoing Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak after American biopharmaceutical company Gilead – its manufacturer – announced the donation of approximately 5,000 vials of the therapeutic to the country.
As of October 4, Rwanda had confirmed 41 cases of Marburg virus after it reported its first ever outbreak in the country on September 27. Of those cases, 12 people had died, 24 were in isolation and receiving treatment, while five had recovered, according to an update from the Ministry of Health.
Information from the Ministry of Health indicates that more than 80 per cent of people affected by Marburg virus (confirmed cases), are healthcare workers whom it said are at high risk since they attend to its patients in intensive care units whereby close contact cannot be avoided.
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Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana said that Remdesivir is meant for emergency treatment of Marburg virus patients that are highly in need.
According to Gilead, Remdesivir is a nucleotide analog prodrug – a therapeutic that thwarts or inhibits replication of a virus – which it invented and developed, building on more than a decade of the company’s antiviral research.
The drug has broad-spectrum antiviral activity both in vitro and in animal models against multiple viral pathogens, including Marburg, Ebola, and coronaviruses including the virus that causes COVID-19.
The drug was approved as a COVID-19 treatment in approximately 50 countries worldwide. To date, Remdesivir has been made available to more than 14 million patients around the world, including more than 8 million people in middle- and low-income countries through Gilead’s voluntary licensing program.
The clinical efficacy of Remdesivir for MVD remains to be established. This emergency use donation is based on the preclinical data for Marburg virus together with extensive clinical safety data from the use of Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19, Gilead indicated.
The drugmaker noted that Remdesivir is not approved for the treatment of MVD anywhere globally, and the safety and efficacy of this use is not known.
It is being provided for the treatment of Marburg Virus Disease in Rwanda following the authorisation for emergency use by Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (Rwanda FDA), it added.
"We will continue to partner closely with the Rwanda Ministry of Health and other local and global groups and we’re hopeful that early intervention and treatment with remdesivir could be helpful in responding to this Marburg outbreak,” said Johanna Mercier, Gilead’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no licensed treatment proven to neutralise the virus so far, but a range of blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies are currently under development.
The UN health agency also noted that early supportive care with rehydration, and symptomatic treatment improves survival.
Marburg virus disease is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. Its average case fatality rate is around 50 per cent, with case fatality rates having varied from 24 per cent to 88 per cent in past outbreaks depending on virus strain and case management, shows information from WHO.