CEPI awards $16.5M to advance Ebola vaccine into human trials

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations announced Thursday it will provide up to $16.5 million to Egypt-based Minapharm Group to advance an experimental Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine into human trials, as the deadliest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo history continues to claim lives.

A Fifth Vaccine Candidate Joins the Fight

Minapharm's candidate, developed with its Berlin-based subsidiary ProBioGen using the modified vaccinia Ankara platform, becomes the fifth Bundibugyo-specific vaccine funded by CEPI in response to the escalating epidemic. The funding will carry the vaccine through preclinical development and into a Phase 1 clinical trial expected to take place in Africa, assessing safety and immunogenicity.cepi+3

The Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus has no approved vaccine or treatment, complicating response efforts in what has become the fastest-growing and second-largest Ebola outbreak on record. A similar MVA-based technology has previously provided long-term immunity against the Zaire species of Ebola, a related pathogen.fiercebiotech+2

Congo's Outbreak Grows as Uganda Declared Free

The announcement came the same day the World Health Organization formally declared Uganda Ebola-free after 42 days without a new confirmed case. Uganda's last confirmed Ebola patient was discharged on July 16, and the country reported 20 cumulative confirmed cases with two deaths during its outbreak.medicalxpress+2

But the situation across Uganda's lengthy western border remains dire. As of August 25, the DRC had reported 5,713 confirmed cases and 2,744 deaths since the outbreak was first identified in Ituri Province on May 14. More than 2,700 people have died in recent months, and transmission remains active in 33 health zones across five provinces.ecdc.europa+2

Race for Countermeasures

CEPI awarded the funding after Minapharm responded to a call for proposals seeking developers with promising Bundibugyo vaccine candidates. The organization has also backed Moderna ↗ 9.93% in advancing a separate Bundibugyo vaccine into its first human trial.cepi+1

"Ebola is moving fast, hitting people already facing conflict and hunger," Carl Skau, acting chief of the World Food Programme, said after visiting eastern DRC in late July. "Communities are key to ending it, but need support."news.un