Ebola virus disease (EVD) was first described over 40 years ago, but no treatment has been approved for humans. The 2013–2016 EVD outbreak in West Africa has expedited the clinical evaluation of several candidate therapeutics that act through different mechanisms, but with mixed results. Nevertheless, these studies are important because the accumulation of clinical data and valuable experience in conducting efficacy trials under emergency circumstances will lead to better implementation of similar studies in the future. Here, we summarize the results of EVD clinical trials, focus on the discussion of factors that may have potentially impeded the effectiveness of existing candidate therapeutics, and highlight considerations that may help meet the challenges ahead in the quest to develop clinically approved drugs.

埃博拉病毒病（EVD）最早在40年前就被描述过，但尚未批准将其用于人类的治疗。2013-2016年西非EVD爆发加快了对几种候选药物的临床评估，这些药物通过不同的机制起作用，但结果参差不齐。然而，这些研究很重要，因为在紧急情况下进行临床试验的临床数据和宝贵经验的积累将导致将来更好地开展类似研究。在这里，我们总结了EVD临床试验的结果，重点讨论了可能会阻碍现有候选疗法有效性的因素，并着重考虑了可能有助于应对开发临床认可药物的挑战。