The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today announced that a randomized control trial has begun to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of drugs used in the treatment of Ebola patients. The trial is the first-ever multi drug trial for an Ebola treatment. It will form part of a multi-outbreak, multi-country study that was agreed to by partners under a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative. 

“While our focus remains on bringing this outbreak to an end, the launch of the randomized control trial in DRC is an important step towards finally finding an Ebola treatment that will save lives,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Until now, patients have been treated under a compassionate use protocol, with drugs that showed promise and had a good safety profile in laboratory conditions. The giant step DRC is taking now will bring clarity about what works best, and save many lives in years to come. We hope to one day say that the death and suffering from Ebola is behind us.”  

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