Production of an experimental Ebola vaccine from the developers of a Covid-19 shot is expected to begin soon, with animal studies underway as researchers race to bring a much-needed tool to the spiraling outbreak.
Clinical trials for the shot could begin in two to three months, said Teresa Lambe, head of vaccine immunology, at the University of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute. “We are cautiously optimistic around that timing,” she said at a briefing. Animal studies, which are required for a vaccine to be tested in humans, have begun and more will get underway soon.
The Oxford team is working to get the starting material needed to manufacture the vaccine to its partner, the Serum Institute of India, “as quickly as possible,” Lambe said. “We’re hoping to have clinical doses, if needed, within two to three months, all going well.”
There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola spreading in Democratic Republic of Congo. At least one other shot is also in development, but it’s expected to be ready for testing later than Oxford’s. The outbreak is currently spreading faster than responders can contain it, with suspected deaths climbing above 220 and treatment centers under attack.
The Oxford vaccine uses the same approach that underpinned the Covid-19 shot from Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc. Lessons from the development of that vaccine have helped speed up the current research. Existing vaccines for different strains of Ebola are not currently being considered for front-line health workers, Gavi’s chief executive officer Sania Nishtar said in an interview.
Gavi, which helps procure vaccines on behalf of countries, has said it is willing to make an advance purchase commitment for an Ebola shot as soon as it’s relevant. The commitment would encourage manufacturers to invest in trials, speed up development and “assign their A teams on this matter,” Nishtar said.
Several treatments are also ready to be tested, including the antiviral remdesivir, which was used to treat Covid-19 infections. While there is optimism around trials starting, experts caution that it will be many months until these products, if they prove effective, are widely available.
“Because vaccine development is idiosyncratic, because it does present challenges, I think people don’t want to over promise and then encounter a stumbling block that needs to be addressed, the vaccine developers are all moving as fast as they possibly can,” Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said.
