Canada has officially approved US biotech company Moderna to commence clinical trials for a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, the health ministry announced on Tuesday.
This Phase 1 trial will evaluate the safety of the mRNA vaccine, determine appropriate dosage levels, and monitor potential side effects.
Assessing Antibody Response
Healthy volunteers will receive the vaccine to measure their immune response against the Bundibugyo strain. Should these initial results be favorable, the vaccine will progress to larger-scale trials.
This represents a crucial step in vaccine development against Ebola, especially given the current outbreak circumstances.
Canadian Health Ministry
- No Ebola cases reported in Canada to date
- Canada previously restricted entry from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Canada has ramped up its biosecurity measures, including barring entry to foreign nationals from the DRC since July 20.
Unlike other strains of Ebola, no approved vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo variant, which has been linked to a recent outbreak declared on May 15.
Amid this urgent health crisis, other vaccine candidates are also in the works. A promising candidate, the rVSV Bundibugyo vaccine, is being developed by Hilleman Laboratories in Singapore.
Additionally, the University of Oxford has initiated clinical trials for another Bundibugyo vaccine that utilizes similar mRNA technology to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.
With Ebola's transmission occurring through contact with infected bodily fluids, the urgency for effective vaccines is underscored by the fact that over 1,700 fatalities have been reported in the DRC since May.