SHELTON, CT / ACCESS Newswire / May 26, 2026 / NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSE American:NNVC) (the “Company”), a clinical stage leader developing antiviral drugs that viruses cannot escape, compares potential treatment options for Ebola Bundibugyo virus strain and finds that the Company’s broad-spectrum antiviral drug candidate NV-387 is worthy of evaluation in this scenario.
The rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus causing the current outbreak appears to be its new variant, likely freshly introduced from some animal source[1], such as fruit bats.
The outbreak which was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO on May 16, 2026, is rapidly expanding, outpacing containment efforts, with over 900 suspected cases and over 220 deaths, in a high traffic region bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, and South Sudan and with 11 more nations in Africa at risk[2].
There are no approved vaccines or treatments against the Bundibugyo virus.
As such, the possible treatment options during the current expanding outbreak scenario must look at either other approved therapies that may not work, or look at new therapies that are at clinical stage.
There were four drug candidates tested in a clinical trial in an Ebola Zaire outbreak, namely an antibody cocktail called ZMapp, another antibody cocktail called REGN-EB3, a monoclonal antibody developed from a survivor patient called mAb114, and a broad-spectrum nucleotide analog drug called Remdesivir. Of these, the more effective mAb114 (Ebanga) and REGN-EB3 (Inmazeb) were approved as treatments for Ebola Zaire infection, and the effect of ZMapp and Remdesivir against standard of care was not evaluated in the PALM clinical trial[3].
All of these four drugs require infusions, which is very difficult in a deadly disease such as Ebola that requires strong patient isolation protocols, and wherein protection of health care workers is of utmost important. Further, monoclonal antibodies are highly specific to the strain of virus and usually are not effective against unrelated strains.
Recently, a drug candidate, obeldesivir, was developed related to remdesivir[4]. Oral obeldesivir failed as a treatment for COVID-19 in a Phase III clinical trial[5].
This clinical failure raises substantial doubts that obeldesivir would be of any benefit in Ebola Bundibugyo infection, since the clinical activity of obeldesivir indeed appears to be less than that of remdesivir, Remdesivir was approved for COVID-19, but not for Ebola Zaire.
NV-387 was previously evaluated by the Company in animal models wherein a separate group of infected animals was treated with remdesivir to serve as a positive control. The increase in survival over untreated animals was 8.5 days (170%) for NV-387 IV, 4.4 days (88%) for NV-387 Oral, but only 2 days (40%) for Remdesivir IV in this uniformly lethal infection model for COVID-19[6]. This indicates that NV-387 IV as well as NV-387 PO were substantially superior to Remdesivir.
We believe these results of NV-387 being superior to Remdesivir as a treatment would hold for other viruses as well, including Ebola viruses.
NV-387 is a broad-spectrum antiviral that mimics the host-side feature called heparan sulfate proteoglycan that over 90-95% of human pathogenic viruses require for infecting cells. No matter how much the virus changes in the field, it continues to use HSPG, and therefore it cannot escape the drug NV-387. In contrast, Remdesivir is a small molecule inhibitor of the viral RDRP enzyme needed for making copies of the viral genome, and the virus can possibly escape by small number of mutations.
All Ebola viruses utilize HSPG as the attachment receptor, followed by entry into the cell inside endosomes. The virus substantially dismantles in the endosome and hitches a cognate receptor called NPC1 to enter the cytoplasm where the next steps in its replication begin.
Thus there is a strong rationale that NV-387 could be highly effective against Ebola virus infections, not just Bundibugyo, but also the Sudan and other viruses for which there are no treatments.
“We believe NV-387 could be effective against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that is spreading rapidly in Africa,” said Anil R. Diwan, PhD, adding, “All filoviruses including all Ebola strains utilize the sulfated proteoglycans for initial cell attachment; which is the feature that NV-387 presents to the viruses to destroy them.”
NV-387 is available as an oral medication that has excellent stability at room temperature, enabling ease of transport, distribution, and delivery to patient. NV-387 oral gummies dissolve naturally in the mouth and do not require tablet swallowing, which is difficult for children, seniors, and also patients with sore throat.
NV-387 Oral Gummies drug product is ready to be shipped to DRC for the impending Phase II clinical trial of NV-387 as a Treatment for Mpox. It will thus be immediately locally available to combat the Ebola outbreak if it shows effectiveness against Ebola Bundibugyo in patients.
If NV-387, as a broad-spectrum antiviral, is found to be effective against the Bundibugyo virus, it will likely be effective against all ebolaviruses or all filoviruses; that would be a game changer for pandemic preparedness.
Currently there is no treatment or vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus. All previous efforts have been focused on vaccines and antibodies[7]. This has led to approval of therapies that are specific to the Zaire strain only, albeit with limited effectiveness. This leaves out all other filoviruses of consequence: Sudan, Marburg, and the more rare Bundibugyo with no treatment or vaccine.
The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for the Bundibugyo outbreak in Eastern DRC, with two cases in Uganda in travelers from Congo, on May 17, 2026[8]. The outbreak itself was declared on May 15, although the initial or “patient zero” case likely occurred in April, 2026. This delay was primarily because of the cases occurring in clusters in multiple remote locations that had limited reporting capabilities.
Some Americans currently in DRC have been affected. It is not clear if they have been traced as contacts, or have acquired infection awaiting diagnosis. The US CDC with other US departments is active in extracting Americans exposed to ebolavirus and moving them into an isolated area for treatment, as necessary[9].
The case fatality rate of ebolaviruses has generally been around 50% in recent outbreaks, with improvements in care, including hydration therapy, corticosteroids, and other usual symptomatic treatments. Ebola viruses spread via bodily fluid secretions including fomites/sputum, as well as semen/genital secretions. Ebola virus can remain in survivors even as many as 965 days after the disease without symptoms, and can transmit through bodily secretions, suggesting possible latency. Many recent outbreaks have been ignited as a result of such reawakened-transmitted virus from a survivor. Sexual transmission was documented even as late as 482 days after disease. This persistence and possible latency of ebolavirus in immune-privileged organs (e.g. brain, eyes, gonads, where antibodies are not operative) makes it a uniquely serious threat for global transmission and sustained outbreaks.
An irony is that because of the high case fatality rate (CFR) approaching 50%, the spread of ebolavirus remains rather limited. If a variant emerges with a reduced CFR, say in the range of 5-15%, the potential threat of global pandemic from such an outbreak would increase substantially. Currently there is no apparent threat of a pandemic.
With ever-increasing global travel, local outbreaks such as ebola can quickly travel far and wide potentially causing global pandemics, as was the case with COVID-19, if not caught in time. It is not feasible to produce a new vaccine and a new set of antibody drugs to combat every possible virus. Even if vaccines and antibodies are produced, the virus would escape by generating variants, as the world has witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Only safe and effective broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that can effectively combat most viral infections will enable the world to combat viruses and defend the global population in the war against known and unknown nanoscopic enemies that are viruses,” commented Dr. Diwan, adding, “NV-387 is the only drug with such potential that is in clinical development today, to the best of our knowledge.”
NanoViricides, Inc. (the “Company”) (www.nanoviricides.com) is a clinical stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for antiviral therapy. The Company’s novel nanoviricide™ class of drug candidates and the nanoviricide™ technology are based on intellectual property, technology and proprietary know-how of TheraCour Pharma, Inc. The Company has a Memorandum of Understanding with TheraCour for the development of drugs based on these technologies for all antiviral infections. The MoU does not include cancer and similar diseases that may have viral origin but require different kinds of treatments.
The Company has obtained broad, exclusive, sub-licensable, field licenses to drugs developed in several licensed fields from TheraCour Pharma, Inc. The Company’s business model is based on licensing technology from TheraCour Pharma Inc. for specific application verticals of specific viruses, as established at its foundation in 2005.
Our lead drug candidate is NV-387, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug that we plan to develop as a treatment of RSV, COVID, Long COVID, Influenza, and other respiratory viral infections, as well as MPOX/Smallpox infections. Our other advanced drug candidate is NV-HHV-1 for the treatment of Shingles. The Company cannot project an exact date for filing an IND for any of its drugs because of dependence on a number of external collaborators and consultants. The Company is currently focused on advancing NV-387 into Phase II human clinical trials.
NV-CoV-2 (API NV-387) is our nanoviricide drug candidate for COVID-19 that does not encapsulate remdesivir. NV-CoV-2-R is our other drug candidate for COVID-19 that is made up of NV-387 with remdesivir encapsulated within its polymeric micelles. The Company believes that since remdesivir is already US FDA approved, our drug candidate encapsulating remdesivir is likely to be an approvable drug, if safety is comparable. Remdesivir is developed by Gilead. The Company has developed both of its own drug candidates NV-CoV-2 and NV-CoV-2-R independently.
The Company is also developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others. NanoViricides’ platform technology and programs are based on the TheraCour® nanomedicine technology of TheraCour, which TheraCour licenses from AllExcel. NanoViricides holds a worldwide exclusive perpetual license to this technology for several drugs with specific targeting mechanisms in perpetuity for the treatment of the following human viral diseases: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Rabies, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2), Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV), Influenza and Asian Bird Flu Virus, Dengue viruses, Japanese Encephalitis virus, West Nile Virus, Ebola/Marburg viruses, and certain Coronaviruses. The Company intends to obtain a license for RSV, Poxviruses, and/or Enteroviruses if the initial research is successful. As is customary, the Company must state the risk factor that the path to typical drug development of any pharmaceutical product is extremely lengthy and requires substantial capital. As with any drug development efforts by any company, there can be no assurance at this time that any of the Company’s pharmaceutical candidates would show sufficient effectiveness and safety for human clinical development. Further, there can be no assurance at this time that successful results against coronavirus in our lab will lead to successful clinical trials or a successful pharmaceutical product.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company’s current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company’s control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company’s expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of principle in preclinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market acceptance of our products.
The phrases “safety”, “effectiveness” and equivalent phrases as used in this press release refer to research findings including clinical trials as the customary research usage and do not indicate evaluation of safety or effectiveness by the US FDA.
FDA refers to US Food and Drug Administration. IND application refers to “Investigational New Drug” application. cGMP refers to current Good Manufacturing Practices. CMC refers to “Chemistry, Manufacture, and Controls”. CHMP refers to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, which is the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) committee responsible for human medicines. API stands for “Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient”. WHO is the World Health Organization. R&D refers to Research and Development.
Contact:
NanoViricides, Inc.
info@nanoviricides.com
Public Relations Contact:
ir@nanoviricides.com
[3] Prasad, AN, Woolsey, C., Borisevich, V., Agans, KN, Deer, DJ, Geisbert, JB, Harrison, MB, Dobias, NS, Karla A. Fenton, KA, Robert W. Cross, RW & Geisbert, TW. “Remdesivir, mAb114, REGN-EB3, and ZMapp partially rescue nonhuman primates infected with a low passage Kikwit variant of
Ebola virus.” Nature Communications (2025)16:3824.
[4] Obeldesivir is an oral prodrug of a metabolite of remdesivir called GS-441524, i.e. Obeldesivir converts to GS-441524, which then converts to its phosphate form that is the same active moiety as formed from remdesivir itself. However, GS-441524 was known to be substantially less active compared to remdesivir.
[5] Lancet Infect Dis 2025; 25: 1282-92, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00238-5.
[6] We developed a BSL-2 uniformly lethal animal model (rat) for COVID-19 by using hCoV-NL63 infection. NL63 uses the same receptor ACE2 as SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, all coronaviruses use HSPG as the initial attachment receptor. Untreated and Vehicle treated animals in this study died uniformly on day 5.
[7] Substantial work was also performed to develop small chemical potentially broad-spectrum agents. Remdesivir was the only small chemical that entered the PALM clinical trials ca. 2018-2019 but failed to show effectiveness. Small chemicals are readily escaped by viruses often with just single mutations.
[9] https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/17/ebola-outbreak-congo-americans-exposure-suspected-cases/
SOURCE: NanoViricides
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