Bundibugyo Ebola jab could start human trials in 2-3 months

A rapid-response vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, under development by the same Oxford University group which produced one of the first COVID-19 vaccines, could begin human trials in the next two or three months.

“We are working as hard and as fast as we can,” Teresa Lambe, an investigator at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said in a statement to media.

The vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 BDBV, uses the ChAdOx platform – the same one that was used for Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

“My hope is that this outbreak can be brought under control quickly and that vaccines are ultimately not needed,” said Lambe. “Nevertheless, our team and partners will continue working to ensure that potential vaccine options are available if they are needed.”

The group said it was also preparing the materials required to start producing the vaccine at scale at the Serum Institute of India.

It comes as the World Health Organization reports that cases of Bundibugyo Ebola are increasing rapidly across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, with nearly 1,000 suspected cases and over 200 suspected deaths.

The situation is concerning as there is currently no vaccine and no treatment for the rare Ebola strain.

African countries warned earlier this week that it could become the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, following the 2014 West African outbreak when over 11,000 people died.

The vaccine group Gavi said on Friday (29 May) it had released up to $40 million to support vaccine development, and a further $10 million to help with the vaccine response.

“We need to act now to ensure that, once one or more vaccine candidates are ready, manufacturers are in a position to start producing doses at scale,” said Gavi chief executive Sania Nishtar.

Overall, funders have earmarked $500 million to tackle the outbreak, though only a small fraction of these commitments have actually been delivered.