WHO Health Specialists Meeting To Evaluate Potential Ebola Therapies and Vaccines

The World Health Organization this week is holding a consultation on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines.  [Update: the draft document for the consultation has now been issued, here.]

A panel of medical ethicists and scientific experts was convened on 11 August to consider and assess the ethical implications for clinical decision-making of the potential use of unapproved interventions. The panel found that the particular circumstances of the Ebola outbreak allowed for the use of experimental treatments.

The two-day meeting, from 4-5 September, seeks to discuss potential risks and benefits, and availability in the short and long term of lead experimental treatments and vaccines for Ebola. The agenda and information about the meeting are here.

The closed-door meeting is also expected to address four priority questions, according to the release:

What should be the overall objectives of a plan for evaluation and use of unregistered interventions (therapies and vaccines) as a response to the current outbreak and in preparation for the future?

What should be the overall objectives of a plan for evaluation and use of unregistered interventions (therapies and vaccines) as a response to the current outbreak and in preparation for the future?

What are the most important actions to ensure successful evaluation and use (if appropriate) for any of these investigational interventions?

What kind of support is required to ensure successful implementation of proposed plans for the evaluation and use of these interventions (therapies and vaccines)?

Some 146 participants are expected to attend the meeting, along with a number of the WHO secretariat staff. The list of participants shows a number of professors, representatives of national health institutions, regional medicine agencies, officials from health ministry, and the pharmaceutical sector.

Also expected to be present are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF and the South Centre, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières and the Third World Network.