--- title: Ebola: Clinical Trial for Drug Starts in Liberia description: Scientists have started testing an experimental drug for Ebola in a Liberian hospital. canonical: https://time.com/3658054/ebola-drug-clinical-trial/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-07T18:32:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:22:21.721Z article:section: Health og:title: Clinical Trial for Ebola Drug Starts in Liberia og:description: University of Oxford researchers are offering patients in Liberia a new drug for Ebola. og:url: https://time.com/3658054/ebola-drug-clinical-trial/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1af2fbd1639a6418/69876f8de53aba26dd4d69e4/ebola-drug.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2587 og:image:height: 1455 og:image:alt: University of Utah Researchers Work Toward Cure For Ebola Strains og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Clinical Trial for Ebola Drug Starts in Liberia twitter:description: University of Oxford researchers are offering patients in Liberia a new drug for Ebola. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1af2fbd1639a6418/69876f8de53aba26dd4d69e4/ebola-drug.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Clinical Trial for Ebola Drug Starts in Liberia > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=b215e746-b5a4-4d00-a6b4-f343117c7b58&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 7, 2015 6:32 PM UTC  A container holds a Peptide that contains a potential new drug candidates for testing against a part of Ebola that is vulnerable to drugs, at the University of Utah on Oct. 14, 2014 in Salt Lake City. A container holds a Peptide that contains a potential new drug candidates for testing against a part of Ebola that is vulnerable to drugs, at the University of Utah on Oct. 14, 2014 in Salt Lake City. George Frey—Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 7, 2015 6:32 PM UTC Scientists have started testing an experimental drug for Ebola in a Liberian hospital. University of Oxford researchers have launched a trial of the drug, brincidofovir, in Doctors Without Borders’ Ebola center in Monrovia. The drug has previously been used to treat patients with Ebola in the United States, like [Thomas Eric Duncan](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCUQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F3475718%2Fdallas-ebola-experimental-drug%2F&ei=F3itVMXELIXHsQS3gILICA&usg=AFQjCNHtzwMhss-U6jE3slnEOH60Xhdv7A&sig2=ku0BOFV-cLyGpr9TgDuB-A&bvm=bv.83134100,d.cWc&cad=rja), NBC cameraman [Ashoka Mukpo](http://time.com/3530334/ebola-ashoka-mukpo-nbc-freelance-cameraman/), and [Dr. Craig Spencer](http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/dr-craig-spencer-experimental-anti-viral-drug-brincidofovir-fight-ebola-officials-article-1.1986996). When patients at the unit are informed they have Ebola, they will be offered the opportunity to participate in the trial. Patients who volunteer will be given two weeks of brincidofovir. The researchers estimate there will be about 140 participants. “Typically it takes over 18 months to start a trial. Here we have done it in less than four months,” Trudie Lang, an Oxford University professor, said [in a statement](http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-01-07-trial-potential-treatment-ebola-begins-liberia). “Everyone has pulled together to make it happen—a Herculean effort by all those involved.” **MORE:** [TIME Person of the Year, the Ebola Fighters](http://time.com/poy) The drug, which was originally developed for other viruses, has shown promise fighting the Ebola virus in test-tubes, but it’s nearly impossible to know whether the drug has been of any use in the small number of patients who have tried it. Brincidofovir is manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Chimerix in Durham, N.C. The trial is funded by the biomedical research foundation, the Wellcome Trust. 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