Ebola Vaccine: Encouraging Advancements in Ebola Vaccination Development A Promising Outlook
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Ebola Vaccine |
History of Ebola and Vaccine Development Efforts
Ebola virus disease was first identified in 1976 during simultaneous outbreaks
in what is now South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since
then, sporadic outbreaks have occurred across Africa. The largest and most
complex Ebola outbreak in history was the West Africa outbreak that began in
December 2013. This outbreak highlighted the need for a licensed Ebola vaccine.
Several vaccine candidates entered clinical trials at unprecedented speed to
address this public health emergency.
Early Phase Clinical Trials
The first Ebola vaccination to be tested in humans was the VSV-EBOV vaccine
developed by scientists at the Public Health Agency of Canada and licensed to
Merck & Co. Phase 1 clinical trials of this vaccine began in September 2014
and showed it to be well tolerated and immunogenic. Phase 2 trials started in
October 2014 in Liberia and later expanded to Sierra Leone and Guinea. These
trials showed the vaccine provided protection in a ring vaccination strategy
where contacts of confirmed cases received the vaccine.
Licensure of the First Ebola Vaccine
In December 2019, the VSV-EBOV vaccine, now called Ebola
Vaccine , received
regulatory approval from the European Medicines Agency based on the results of
the rings vaccination trials. In July 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
also approved Ervebo under the brand name Zabdeno. With these approvals, Ervebo
became the first and currently only FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of
Ebola virus disease.
Progress of Other Candidate Vaccines
Other vaccine candidates including the Ad26.ZEBOV and MVA-BN-Filo vaccines also
advanced through clinical trials during and after the West Africa outbreak.
Phase 3 trials of the Ad26.ZEBOV vaccine began in Guinea in February 2018.
Preliminary results in August 2020 demonstrated high efficacy. Phase 2 trials
of MVA-BN-Filo started in Sierra Leone in 2017 and Phase 3 studies are
currently ongoing. The continued progress of multiple promising candidates
creates options to address future outbreaks.
Stockpiling Strategies and Access Issues
With licensed vaccines now available, international organizations are working
on stockpiling strategies. In December 2020, Gavi announced funding to support
stockpiling of the Ervebo vaccine. However, access remains a challenge for
at-risk populations in remote areas of Africa. Deployment logistics and
maintenance of cold chain supply systems pose hurdles. Coordination between
vaccine manufacturers, funding agencies and national health systems will be
critical to improve access, especially in areas prone to sporadic outbreaks.
Ongoing Research on Next Generation Vaccines
While current vaccines target the Zaire species of the Ebola virus, research
continues on extending protection coverage. Investigators are developing
pan-filovirus vaccines targeting multiple species of Ebola and Marburg viruses.
Another focus area is thermostable formulations that could facilitate delivery
in challenging environments without refrigeration. Longer term immunity is also
an objective to reduce vaccination frequency. Upcoming results from ongoing
clinical studies will guide the next steps in Ebola vaccination development
efforts.
The licensing of the first Ebola vaccination marks a critical
milestone. However, more work is still needed for equitable access especially
in remote outbreak prone regions. Continued progress on next generation
vaccines holds promise to provide broader protection against this deadly virus.
Coordinated global efforts offer hope to better control future Ebola outbreaks
through vaccination.
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