*As 1,521 die in outbreak in Congo
WorldStage– The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) says it’s providing 8.5 million dollars to support the development and production of a vaccine candidate against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus.
CEPI in a statement said that the funding would support the manufacture of clinical trial vaccine doses by Hilleman Laboratories.
The coalition said the investment would accelerate efforts to develop a vaccine against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, for which no vaccine was approved despite the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
It said Hilleman Laboratories, a Singapore-based joint venture between global biopharmaceutical company MSD and the Wellcome charitable foundation, would manufacture investigational vaccine doses using the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) platform.
The statement noted that the vaccine candidate would be produced at the organisation’s vaccine manufacturing facility for use in early-stage clinical trials designed to evaluate its safety and immune response.
CEPI said successful completion of the initial clinical trials would pave the way for technology transfer to a large-scale manufacturer to produce additional vaccine doses for later-stage studies.
It added that the technology transfer would also strengthen preparedness by enabling rapid, affordable vaccine production for countries affected by outbreaks, particularly low- and middle-income nations.
“Hilleman Laboratories will build on vaccine starting material generated through earlier CEPI-funded research conducted by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
“The company will optimise the manufacturing process before producing clinical-grade vaccine doses for human trials, in accordance with internationally accepted quality standards.
“The MSD will provide proprietary scientific knowledge and manufacturing expertise on the rVSV platform to support rapid development of the investigational vaccine candidate,” the statement further stated.
The Chief Executive Officer of CEPI, Dr Richard Hatchett, said the increasing number of Bundibugyo virus infections had heightened the urgency for developing safe and effective vaccines against the disease.
Hatchett said the outbreak was rapidly evolving into a humanitarian crisis, while no licensed vaccine currently existed to protect vulnerable populations from the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus.
He said the vaccine candidate was developed on the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus platform, which had already been successfully used in the licensed vaccine against the Zaire strain of Ebola.
“The collaboration combines CEPI’s investment with Hilleman Laboratories’ manufacturing capacity and MSD’s scientific expertise to accelerate vaccine development and clinical evaluation,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Hilleman Laboratories, Dr Raman Rao, said the partnership would draw on existing advances made in improving production of the licensed Zaire ebolavirus vaccine.
He said that the improved manufacturing process would help shorten development timelines while ensuring sufficient vaccine doses were available for planned clinical studies.
Earlier in the year, CEPI announced funding of up to 30 million dollars to improve the manufacturing process for MSD’s World Health Organisation (WHO)-prequalified Zaire ebolavirus vaccine.
It said the upgraded process was expected to increase production yields, improve thermostability and reduce manufacturing costs, subject to regulatory approval and successful technical validation.
It added that the improvements would allow refrigerated storage of vaccine doses for several months, making them easier to transport and deploy during disease outbreaks in resource-limited settings.
The MSD Shareholder Executive Leader at Hilleman Laboratories, Mr Chirfi Guindo, said collaboration among governments, industries and global health partners remained essential for strengthening preparedness against Ebola and other epidemic threats.
Guindo expressed optimism that the partnership would provide the global community with an additional tool for responding rapidly and effectively to future Bundibugyo outbreaks.
Commenting, Wellcome’s Head of Vaccines, Ms Charlie Weller, said vaccine development should complement surveillance, diagnostics, treatment and community engagement to achieve effective outbreak control.
He said the current outbreak was unfolding in areas affected by conflict, insecurity and fragile health systems, making comprehensive public health interventions increasingly important.
Bundibugyo ebolavirus is one of the recognised species of the Ebola virus capable of causing severe haemorrhagic fever in humans, with outbreaks recorded in parts of Africa.
Although vaccines have been approved against the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, global health experts say developing an effective Bundibugyo vaccine remains critical to strengthening future outbreak preparedness and response.
Hilleman Laboratories forms part of Singapore’s biomedical research and vaccine manufacturing ecosystem, with a focus on epidemic preparedness and outbreak response.
Singapore had pledged 12 million dollars in May to support CEPI’s work aimed at strengthening the world’s capacity to prevent and respond to epidemic and pandemic threats.
1,521 DIE IN CONGO
Meanwhile, the Congolese Government on Thursday confirmed that 1,521 people have died from Ebola in the latest epidemic that hit the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It also said that the number of laboratory-confirmed infections have risen to 3,442.
According to official figures, the fatality rate currently stands at 44 per cent, meaning that almost half of all confirmed cases have been fatal.
Experts believe there are high numbers of cases that are yet to be detected and reported.
They suspect that the virus had been spreading for months before the outbreak was first detected in mid-May.
Infection figures are rising faster than ever before in an Ebola outbreak.
Carl Skau, Deputy Director, World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday said “this is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak of all time. In West Africa, it took eight months for 1,000 people to die.
“In 2014 and 2015, more than 11,000 people died in an Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
“Around 2,300 people died in the second-worst recorded outbreak, which took place from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo.”
Ebola is a life-threatening disease.The virus is transmitted through physical contact and, in particular, contact with bodily fluids.
