Moderna receives $50 million to develop an mRNA Ebola vaccine against Bundibugyo

A burst of energy

CEPI will also donate $3.2 million to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, which is developing a vaccine that uses the same technology as Merck’s approved Ebola vaccine, Ervebo, which fights strains of the Zaire ebola virus.

Finally, CEPI is donating $8.6 million to the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, which is using its adenovirus vaccine platform, as it did for the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.

There are currently two approved vaccines against Ebola, including Ervebo and Zabdeno/Mvabea by Johnson & Johnson. Both vaccines target the Zaire strain, which has caused the biggest outbreaks so far, followed by the Sudan strain. The latest eruption is only the third to be driven by the Bundibugyo problem. Therefore, there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine against it.

Lack of access to medical care is one of the challenges facing health officials in responding to the outbreak. Recognition of the outbreak was delayed, allowing the virus to spread unchecked. Diseases are also spreading in the DRC region where there is conflict, population growth, and the need for humanitarian aid.

As of Friday, the World Health Organization reported 1,041 cases (135 confirmed, 906 suspected) and 241 deaths (18 confirmed, 223 suspected) in the outbreak.