Montreal research team developing medication to combat Ebola – CTV
June 05, 2026
A group of Montreal researchers is making progress towards developing a medication for Ebola, as well as addressing future potential pandemics.
The team at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) says it is working on a new “antiviral discovered in plants” that is showing promise.
The scientific team is led by Dr. Michel Chrétien and Dr. Majambu Mbikay with the IRCM’s Functional Endoproteolysis Laboratory, who “identified a new family of natural molecules with strong antiviral activity, notably against the Ebola virus and SARS‑CoV‑2, the virus responsible for COVID‑19.”
If successful, the medication could be taken to prevent people from contracting Ebola, as well as help those already infected.
“We are still working, and this one drug is particularly promising,” said Mbikay. “It’s a candidate drug, but we can’t say for sure [if] it is a drug that can be used in humans. That will come later on, but all the signs, all the indications are that it is probably a good one.”
