World Health Organization (WHO) Assistant Director-General Marie Paule Kieny speaks during a press conference following a two-day World health experts urgent meeting on fast-tracking experimental Ebola drugs in Geneva. AFP
Reuters/Geneva
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that experts had agreed that blood-derived drug therapies and convalescent serum may be used for treatment of Ebola virus, and called for investment in the unproven drugs.
Two "promising" Ebola vaccines have also been identified, and safety results from clinical trials may be available this November, paving the way for their use, WHO assistant director-general Marie-Paule Kieny told a news conference.
The two vaccines are made by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and NewLink Genetics, according to WHO documents submitted to the two-day talks attended by nearly 200 experts. "These must be prioritised in terms of clinical development," Kieny said.
