Oct 26 (Reuters) – Regeneron said on Monday it extended its agreement with a US health authority to provide additional supply of its Ebola treatment, amid a growing outbreak in Africa.
Here are some details:
• The new agreement with the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, expanding a 2020 contract, will see Regeneron supply doses of its drug Inmazeb through 2031 for about $270 million
• The US Food and Drug Administration approved Inmazeb in 2020 for the treatment of infection caused by Zaire ebolavirus
• The current Ebola outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved specific antiviral treatment or licensed vaccine
• Regeneron said it is testing its experimental therapy, maftivimab, as a potential treatment for the Bundibugyo virus
• The outbreak, first reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo in May, has now spread to four countries across East, Central and West Africa — the widest geographic spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent to date
• The current outbreak has infected nearly 10,000 people and killed more than 4,800 in Congo
• The disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
