The race for a vaccine against rare Ebola virus
CEPI’s $60M-plus commitment aims to push Bundibugyo virus candidates toward the clinic as outbreak risk grows
As an Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus grows, CEPI is committing more than $60 million to accelerate vaccine candidates for a pathogen with no approved vaccines or therapeutics. The funding could help push the first Bundibugyo vaccine candidates into the clinic, though all remain months from human testing.
On May 15, the WHO declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus to be a public health emergency of international concern. Ebola is caused by viruses in the orthoebolavirus genus, four of which are known to infect humans. The best known species is Orthoebolavirus zairense, or the Zaire Ebola virus, which caused the large 2014-16 West African outbreak; Orthoebolavirus sudanense, or the Sudan virus, is another major cause of Ebola disease...