The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended two additional Ebola vaccine candidates for clinical evaluation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as research into potential treatments advances.
In a statement on Wednesday, the organisation said the vaccines, specifically developed against the Bundibugyo virus, would be tested for the first time during an outbreak of the disease.
“The two candidates are ChAdOx1, developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna’s mRNA-1469,” it said.
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It said its independent Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritisation recommended the vaccines based on available preclinical and early clinical evidence, adding that their inclusion awaited national approvals.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, described the development as evidence of scientific collaboration, expressing appreciation to researchers, health workers, partners and participants involved in the clinical trials.
He said participants’ contributions would generate important evidence that could help save lives, adding that vaccines alone would not end the outbreak but could strengthen control efforts.
“The Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, DRC’s national public health and biomedical research institute, is leading the vaccine trial with support from WHO, the University of Antwerp and other international partners.
“Other collaborators include Epicentre, Médecins Sans Frontières, the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention,” he said.
According to him, the rapid development of the vaccine candidates was supported by investments from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
“The Tumaini trial is designed to evaluate multiple vaccine candidates through a ring-vaccination approach involving contacts of people confirmed to have Bundibugyo virus disease.
“The approach builds on a strategy used during the West African Ebola outbreak, when a landmark trial in Guinea established the effectiveness of Ervebo vaccine against Zaire ebolavirus.
“Ervebo is also the first vaccine being evaluated in the Tumaini trial to determine its effectiveness against Bundibugyo virus,” he said.
The WHO boss said four vaccination rings had already been established, while preparations were underway for additional rings involving contacts of people who had fallen ill or died from Ebola.
Ghebreyesus said research into potential treatments was also progressing through the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS trial, inaugurateted in July to evaluate treatments for patients with confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease.
“The trial is assessing whether monoclonal antibody MBP134, antiviral drug remdesivir or a combination of both could improve survival among infected patients,” he said.
The WHO boss said another treatment, maftivimab, would soon be added to the trial, while a complementary study investigating obeldevisir for post-exposure prevention was ongoing.
He said the organisation was supporting outbreak research through its Research and Development Blueprint and Health Emergencies Programme, providing technical advice, research protocols and operational support.
He said the support also included coordinating research partners and ensuring that studies conducted during the outbreak met rigorous scientific and ethical standards.
“Initial findings from the treatment trials are expected in the coming months, while results from the vaccine trial are anticipated in early 2027,” he said.(
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