Dr. Kobinger and Dr. Qiu – 2018 GGIA Laureates
Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and Dr. Gary Kobinger discovered a treatment for the deadly Ebola virus and were awarded the 2018
Winnipeg, Manitoba
ZMapp treats patients with the Ebola virus
Nominated by:
ERNEST C. MANNING AWARDS FOUNDATION
Year: 2018
About the Innovation
Using unorthodox, cutting-edge technologies that went against prevailing scientific opinion, Drs. Kobinger and Qiu created ZMapp to treat patients with the Ebola virus. ZMapp comprises a cocktail of monoclonal antibody therapies that act like missiles targeting the outer shell of the Ebola virus, preventing it from replicating. Its first human applications resulted in the full recovery of two medical missionaries and 25 first responders and residents during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Liberia. Since then, ZMapp has been driving studies into the efficacy of monoclonal antibody therapies against HIV, Lassa, Marburg and other infectious illnesses.
About the Innovator
Dr. Gary Kobinger is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and the director of the Research Centre on Infectious Diseases, at Université Laval. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and an associate professor at the University of Manitoba. His work focuses on developing and testing new vaccine platforms and immune treatments against emerging and re-emerging viruses of high consequences to public health. Dr. Xiangguo Qiu currently heads the Vaccine Development and Antiviral Therapies section in the Special Pathogens Program at the National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Her primary field is immunology with research emphasis on vaccine development, post-exposure therapeutics and rapid diagnostics of high-consequence haemorrhagic viruses.
