By Our Reporter, With Agency Reports
THE COALITION for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has committed $4.17 million dollars to fund four studies testing whether existing or previously licensed Ebola vaccines can provide protection against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which is driving a rapidly escalating outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The studies will analyse thousands of stored blood samples from people previously vaccinated against Zaire Ebola virus to determine whether vaccines such as Ervebo can trigger immune responses capable of recognising the Bundibugyo virus.
This is contained in a statement CEPI and made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
The development is significant as there is currently no licensed vaccine specifically against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, with the outbreak raising concerns over the availability of effective countermeasures.
CEPI said that the studies would be led by research teams from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health in the U.S., the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, the University of Oxford and the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research.
Dr Richard Hatchett, CEPI Chief Executive Officer, said existing vaccines against the related Zaire ebolavirus could potentially provide an important tool while Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates were still under development.
“There is no licensed vaccine against Bundibugyo virus,” Hatchett said.
He explained that although CEPI was supporting the development of Bundibugyo vaccine candidates, but that it would not be available during the earliest phase of the current outbreak.
He said the new studies would therefore help determine how existing vaccines could be used while more targeted vaccines were being developed.
“The researchers will assess vaccine-induced immune responses and specifically examine whether antibodies generated following vaccination against Zaire ebolavirus can cross-react with Bundibugyo virus.
“The studies will also help researchers develop and standardise tests for detecting antibodies against Bundibugyo virus and understand how long such immune responses persist.
“The UCLA-led study, supported with 2.05 million dollars, will draw on more than 1,700 participants and about 1,800 stored serum samples from people who received either Ervebo or the Zabdeno/Mvabea vaccine regimen.
“The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp will receive 1.02 million dollars for a study involving more than 600 participants whose samples were collected through an earlier CEPI-supported vaccine trial,” Hatchett said.
He said that the first antibody results from the Antwerp study could be available within two to six months.
“The University of Oxford project, funded with 975,000 dollars, will analyse samples from people who received Ervebo as well as survivors of Zaire ebolavirus disease.
“The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research will receive 120,000 dollars to examine samples from vaccinated healthcare workers and close contacts in existing cohorts.
“The studies come as health authorities consider how best to use available vaccines in response to the Bundibugyo outbreak,” he said.
The CEPI CEO added that recent evidence had prompted the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritisation to recommend that Ervebo also be evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial, alongside Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates when they become available.
He said that the DRC authorities and Africa CDC have also announced plans to deploy Ervebo to priority groups under a protocol-governed expanded-use approach.
He said findings from the new studies would help close knowledge gaps and support decisions on the use of existing vaccines during the current outbreak and future outbreaks caused by related filoviruses.
The research, according to him, can also provide information for the development and evaluation of vaccines capable of providing broader protection against different Ebola virus species.
