Health
CEPI Funds $4.17m Studies To Test Ebola Vaccines Against Bundibugyo Virus
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) says it has committed 4.17 million dollars to four research projects to determine whether existing Ebola vaccines can generate immune responses against Bundibugyo Ebola virus.
CEPI said in a statement on Thursday that the studies would analyse stored blood samples from thousands of people previously vaccinated against Zaire ebolavirus, including with the Ervebo vaccine.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the virus is responsible for the escalating outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern in May.
CEPI Chief Executive Officer, Dr Richard Hatchett, said there was currently no licensed vaccine against Bundibugyo virus, while Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates under development would not be available during the earliest phase of the outbreak.
“However, vaccines do exist for the related Zaire ebola virus, including Ervebo.
“Given the recent announcement that Ervebo will be deployed for emergency use against Bundibugyo virus, these CEPI-backed studies will be all the more important to inform on how we can make the best use of the existing vaccine,” he said.
CEPI said the studies would help establish and standardise antibody tests for Bundibugyo virus, assess the durability of immune responses and support future clinical trials and vaccination strategies.
It said the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritisation had recommended that Ervebo should be evaluated in a Phase Three clinical trial alongside Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates when available.
It noted that DRC authorities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have also announced plans to deploy Ervebo to priority groups under a protocol-governed expanded-use arrangement.
According to CEPI, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Fielding School of Public Health will receive 2.05 million dollars to examine immune responses among recipients of Ervebo and Ad26.ZEBOV/MVA-BN-Filo vaccines, using data from more than 1,700 participants and about 1,800 stored serum samples.
Professor of Epidemiology at UCLA, Prof. Anne Rimoin said the institution’s long-standing collaboration with the National Institute of Biomedical Research in the DRC had provided cohorts and laboratory expertise that could be deployed rapidly.
“When an outbreak is moving this quickly, we cannot afford to start from zero,” she said.
It also said that the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, would receive 1.02 million dollars for its EBO-BOOST-BRIDGE project, which would analyse samples from more than 600 participants to assess cross-protection against Bundibugyo virus and other related viruses.
CEPI said that the project would also transfer laboratory methods to the National Institute of Biomedical Research in the DRC, with the first antibody results expected within two to six months.
It said that the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine’s Centre for Human Genetics and Pandemic Sciences Institute would receive 975,000 dollars to test blood samples from Ervebo recipients and survivors of Zaire ebolavirus disease to determine whether vaccine-induced or naturally acquired immunity could potentially protect against Bundibugyo virus.
Prof. Miles Carroll, Professor of Emerging viruses at University of Oxford, and the study’s Lead investigator, said the findings would provide critical information for rapid vaccine deployment decisions.
The statement said that MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research would also receive 120,000 dollars to study samples from vaccinated close contacts and Ugandan healthcare workers to establish whether antibodies generated by Ervebo also recognise Bundibugyo virus.
CEPI said the awards were selected through its June 2026 Call for Proposals to generate evidence for Bundibugyo vaccine research and development.
It added that the programme was supported by the European Commission through a 2026 Horizon Europe grant, the U.S. Department of State and CEPI’s existing core funding.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
