The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has launched the first human trial of a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. The trial aims to speed up efforts to combat the outbreak spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The early-stage study, known as BD-Ebov, will test the safety of the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine and evaluate its immune response in 50 healthy adults ages 18 to 55 in Oxford, the university said Monday.
Recruitment for the trial has already begun, and vaccinations are expected to start in the coming weeks, pending regulatory approval.
The vaccine was developed by researchers at Oxford’s Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute using the same viral vector technology used to develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
The Serum Institute of India, which is partnering with Oxford on the project, said it produced and stockpiled about 620,000 doses of the vaccine candidate within two weeks. It also supplied 4,000 investigational doses for the early-stage trial.
In May, the World Health Organization recommended prioritizing the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine, along with another single-dose vaccine candidate, rVSV Bundibugyo, which is being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, for clinical evaluation as part of the response to the ongoing outbreak.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said it will initially invest up to $8.6 million to support the vaccine’s development.
Preparations are also underway for additional clinical trials in Uganda, pending regulatory approval. The studies will be conducted through partnerships that include the Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Uganda Research Unit.
If the early-stage trial is successful, CEPI said it will work with the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India to support the larger late-stage studies needed to seek emergency-use authorization or full regulatory approval.
The partners said their goal is to ensure the vaccine can be supplied quickly and affordably to countries affected by the outbreak.
