The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended two additional Ebola vaccine candidates for clinical evaluation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as efforts to develop vaccines and treatments against the Bundibugyo virus intensify.
The organisation said the vaccines, specifically designed to target the Bundibugyo virus, would undergo clinical evaluation for the first time during an outbreak of the disease.
The two candidates are ChAdOx1, developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna’s mRNA-1469 vaccine.
According to the WHO, its independent Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritisation recommended the vaccines following an assessment of available preclinical and early clinical evidence. However, their inclusion in the trial is subject to national approval.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, described the development as a major outcome of scientific collaboration, commending researchers, healthcare workers, partners and trial participants for their contributions.
He said the evidence generated through the trials could help save lives, stressing that although vaccines alone would not end the outbreak, they could strengthen ongoing response efforts.
The vaccine trial, known as the Tumaini study, is being led by the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research, with support from the WHO, the University of Antwerp and other international partners.
Other collaborators include Epicentre, Médecins Sans Frontières, the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ghebreyesus said investments from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations helped accelerate the development of the vaccine candidates.
He explained that the Tumaini trial uses a ring-vaccination strategy, targeting contacts of people confirmed to have Bundibugyo virus disease, adding that four vaccination rings had already been established, with preparations underway to expand the exercise.
Meanwhile, research into potential Ebola treatments is progressing through the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS trial, launched in July to assess treatment options for patients confirmed to have the disease.
The trial is evaluating the effectiveness of monoclonal antibody MBP134, the antiviral drug remdesivir, and a combination of both in improving survival rates among infected patients.
The WHO Director-General added that another treatment, maftivimab, would soon be introduced into the trial, while a separate study is also being planned to investigate obeldevisir for preventing infection following exposure.
