Greek scientist, Dr Christos Kyratsous is leading a US-based team of researches in developing an experiment drug that has been shown to dramatically improve survival rates for the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever.
Dr Christos Kyratsous is Vice President of research, infectious diseases and viral vector technologies at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where the antibody cocktail called 'REGN-EB3' was developed.
Preliminary findings from a trial in the midst of the major outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), showed that two of the five investigational drugs significantly reduced deaths.
“The situation in DRC is tragic, it’s the second largest epidemic in history, with lots of deaths already, so we are grateful to our associates at the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders who were able to carry out the study,” Dr Christos Kyratsous told Kathimerini.
The 38-year-old graduate of Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University, with a PhD from Columbia University in New York, was also recently included by Business Insider magazine in “the 30 leaders under 40 who are working to transform healthcare.”
He joined Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in 2011 and has been working on the Ebola experimental drug project since August 2014.
Talking about 'REGN-EB3', Dr Christos Kyratsous noted that it is "a three-antibody cocktail designed with the goal of enhancing efficacy, reducing the development of viral sequences that lead to resistance, and increasing potential utility in future outbreaks as viruses continually evolve."
*Source- Ekathimerini
