Moderna $MRNA is partnering with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop a vaccine against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, the strain driving an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda for which no licensed vaccine exists.
CEPI has committed up to $50 million to support preclinical testing and Phase 1 clinical trials of Moderna's messenger RNA vaccine candidate. CEPI said it will also fund simultaneous manufacturing of doses so that large-scale Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials can begin immediately if Phase 1 data supports moving forward.
CEPI reports the outbreak has grown to exceed 900 suspected cases, with the death toll surpassing 220. The World Health Organization and Africa CDC have each declared it a public health emergency.
"At Moderna, we believe our mRNA platform can play an important role in responding to emerging infectious disease threats," said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel in a statement. "We will move with urgency and scientific rigor to support the response and help bring a potential vaccine closer to the communities that need it most."
Moderna is one of three developers receiving CEPI funding. Two other developers are receiving smaller initial awards: the University of Oxford, whose candidate is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India using the ChAdOx1 platform that underpinned the Oxford-AstraZeneca $AZN COVID-19 vaccine, is receiving up to $8.6 million, while the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative is receiving up to $3.2 million for a candidate built on the rVSV platform, the same technology underlying an approved vaccine for the Zaire strain of Ebola.
CEPI said it selected the three candidates following a global review and consultation with WHO, Africa CDC, Gavi, and the affected countries. Each candidate uses a different vaccine technology platform.
A Bundibugyo vaccine is likely months away from human trials, according to NBC News. Dr. Vasee Moorthy, the lead for WHO's research and development blueprint, said the more promising candidate available at the time of an earlier WHO news conference could take six to nine months before enough doses are ready for trials.
In the absence of an approved Bundibugyo vaccine, the response has depended on foundational outbreak-control measures — identifying and tracing contacts, isolating infected individuals, and enforcing infection prevention protocols at treatment sites. Questions have also arisen about whether Merck $MRK's Ervebo — licensed against the Zaire strain — could provide any cross-protection, though NBC News reports that Ebola researchers regard the available animal data as thin and inconclusive.
CEPI said equitable access is a core element of the partnerships, with all three development partners committed to enabling affordable supply of any resulting vaccine to affected countries.