Pharmaceutical company Moderna announced Monday that it has joined forces with a global health coalition to create a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain responsible for the current Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The announcement comes amid urgent efforts by health officials around the world to find medical solutions for containing the outbreak, which has resulted in more than 900 suspected cases and over 220 suspected deaths.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has pledged up to $50 million through this partnership to fund preclinical development and initial clinical trials of Moderna’s experimental BDBV vaccine candidate.
CEPI also announced it would provide up to $8.6 million initially for a vaccine created by the University of Oxford and produced by the Serum Institute of India, plus an initial $3.2 million for a vaccine developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
Last week, the World Health Organization issued recommendations to prioritize multiple experimental treatments, including antibodies, antivirals and vaccines, for both treating and preventing BDBV.
CEPI operates as a global partnership focused on speeding up vaccine development against epidemic and pandemic threats.
In a separate announcement Monday, global vaccine alliance Gavi pledged up to $50 million, with up to $40 million designated to speed up vaccine access and $10 million allocated for outbreak response support.
The Pandemic Fund announced last week that it would provide up to $220.6 million in grants to address critical gaps in the Ebola outbreak response.
