Successful treatment of advanced Ebola virus infection with T-705 (favipiravir) in a small animal model

Outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in sub-Saharan Africa are associated with case fatality rates of up to 90%. Currently, neither a vaccine nor an effective antiviral treatment is available for use in humans. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the pyrazinecarboxamide derivative T-705 (favipiravir) against Zaire Ebola virus (EBOV) in vitro and in vivo. T-705 suppressed replication of Zaire EBOV in cell culture by 4log units with an IC90 of 110μM. Mice lacking the type I interferon receptor (IFNAR(-)(/)(-)) were used as in vivo model for Zaire EBOV-induced disease. Initiation of T-705 administration at day 6 post infection induced rapid virus clearance, reduced biochemical parameters of disease severity, and prevented a lethal outcome in 100% of the animals. The findings suggest that T-705 is a candidate for treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.