By Precious Mark
The National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB), the World Health Organization (WHO), and international health partners have officially launched the “EBO-PEP” clinical trial in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
Backed by a total mobilized investment of 1 million from Africa CDC, and $5 million from the DRC and South Africa), the trial marks a major step forward in regional health security.
The trial, which commenced on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, aims to evaluate the efficacy of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) using the experimental oral antiviral drug, obeldesivir, to protect individuals who have had close contact with confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus.
The launch of the clinical trial comes on the heels of a declaration by the WHO in May 2026, designating the current outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain as a public health emergency of international concern.
According to data released by the DRC’s National Institute of Public Health (INSP), the outbreak had claimed 600 lives and infected 1,759 people as of July 9. Currently, there is no approved vaccine or therapeutic cure for this specific strain of the virus.
Unlike traditional treatments administered after a patient falls ill, the EBO-PEP protocol focuses on preventive intervention. The trial targets high-risk contacts, including family members and frontline healthcare workers, within five days of exposure to a confirmed case.
The drug being evaluated, obeldesivir, is an oral pill developed by Gilead Sciences. Researchers believe its oral administration makes it highly suitable for rapid deployment in remote, logistically challenging rural communities compared to intravenous alternatives.
Reacting to the development, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, described the initiative as a potential turning point in managing Ebola outbreaks.
“Prevention is essential to stopping this outbreak and protecting those at highest risk of infection. If successful, the EBO-PEP trial could establish post-exposure prophylaxis as a game-changing approach for preventing Ebola disease among people who have been exposed to the virus,” he said.
For populations where clinical data on obeldesivir remains limited, such as pregnant women and children under the age of 12, a secondary protocol will run concurrently to provide another antiviral drug, remdesivir, on a compassionate-use basis.
The international trial is being coordinated on the ground by the humanitarian medical NGO, ALIMA, alongside the INRB and the French research agency, ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Participant recruitment has already commenced at specialized PEP centers set up adjacent to existing Ebola treatment units in Bunia and Rwampara within the DRC’s Ituri province, with field support from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Organizers expect to enroll approximately 1,000 participants in this phase of the trial, with each volunteer being monitored daily for 42 days to determine the safety and preventive effectiveness of the treatment.