A global health organization said on June 1 that it is pledging about $60 million to accelerate the development of three vaccine candidates against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which is causing the Ebola outbreak growing in central Africa.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an early investor in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, will provide Moderna with about $50 million for preclinical testing and phase one human trials of the company’s Ebola vaccine.
The Ebola candidate shot uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s vaccine.
CEPI is also funding work on a vaccine featuring a genetically modified virus being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative that is based on an existing vaccine against Zaire ebolavirus, and a vaccine being produced through a collaboration between the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India that uses the same viral vector platform as the COVID-19 vaccine Oxford made with AstraZeneca.
“With Bundibugyo virus spreading rapidly and no licensed vaccines, every day counts in the race against this deadly disease,” Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said in a statement.
“CEPI’s urgent funding and support for these three promising candidates aims to advance safe, effective vaccines to help control this epidemic.”
An Ebola outbreak that was confirmed in Congo in May has caused 291 confirmed cases, hundreds of suspected cases, and 43 confirmed deaths, according to the latest updates from authorities in Congo and Uganda.
Testing has confirmed that the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus. There are no approved vaccines or treatments against the strain.
CEPI said it selected the three vaccines in part because either the vaccines or the platforms they use have undergone successful safety testing and have shown efficacy against related viruses.
If phase one trials are successful, CEPI expects to work with partners to support late-stage trials that could lead to emergency clearance.
U.S.-based Moderna said the funds from CEPI would enable the company to produce doses of its experimental shot as clinical evaluation is underway, positioning it to “rapidly advance” the vaccine to phase two and phase three trials if certain safety and efficacy thresholds are met.
“We are proud to expand our strategic collaboration with CEPI to advance a potential vaccine candidate against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, leveraging our established technology and experience in filovirus vaccine development,” Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, said in a statement on June 1.
“We will move with urgency and scientific rigor to support the response and help bring a potential vaccine closer to the communities that need it most.”
World Health Organization experts analyzing potential Bundibugyo vaccines had not mentioned Moderna’s vaccine.
The organization said in late May that the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vaccine being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative was “the most promising candidate vaccine” against Bundibugyo virus but that it would likely take seven to nine months to be ready for a clinical trial.
The third shot, from Oxford and the Serum Institute, could be ready for a trial in as little as two months, according to the organization.
Mark Feinberg, CEO and president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, said in a statement on June 1 that the financial support from CEPI would enable the group “to accelerate efforts to advance the vaccine candidate toward clinical evaluation,” without providing a timeline.
CEPI’s funding will back work leading to phase one trials, Oxford officials said.
“We are hopeful that through a coordinated global effort, we will be able to curb this outbreak and stop this virus in its tracks,” Teresa Lambe, head of vaccine immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said in a statement.
A Serum Institute spokesperson had told The Epoch Times in a May 24 email that the company was looking to start producing the vaccine in 20 to 30 days.
“[The institute] will bring its manufacturing capabilities to this collaboration with CEPI and the University of Oxford to help advance a Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidate as quickly as possible, while supporting the shared goal of affordable access for affected countries if the vaccine proves successful,” Adar Poonawalla, the institute’s CEO, said on June 1.