Serum Institute of India plans to manufacture 20,000 to 30,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine by the end of November, which could be used in trials against an outbreak in Uganda, a source in its developers and company said. .
Uganda’s response to the outbreak has been blunted by the absence of a proven vaccine against the Sudanese strain of the virus.
There have been 54 confirmed cases and 19 deaths since last month and the first case in the capital, Kampala, was reported last week. But health officials believe the actual number may be higher.
Vaccines against the more common Zaire strain of Ebola have proven highly effective during recent outbreaks in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
Oxford University’s Jenner Institute, which developed a COVID-19 vaccine with AstraZeneca, has an Ebola vaccine that has been shown to induce an immune response to both Sudan and Zaire strains in phase 1 trials.
Its developers said it could be deployed as part of a clinical trial in Uganda once the authorities there gave regulatory approval.
“We are working closely with the Serum Institute to rapidly scale up the manufacturing of this vaccine,” said Teresa Lambe, chief scientific advisor on Ebola at the Jenner Institute.
“We are expecting to have a large number of doses, about 20,000 to 30,000 or more, by mid-November,” she told Reuters.
A source at the Serum Institute, part of a group run by Indian billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla, the world’s largest vaccine maker, confirmed the information. The source said that the dose of Ebola vaccine will be given free of cost.
playing catch up
Ugandan Information Minister Chris Bairyomunshi said in an interview on Saturday that he had no idea about the vaccine rollout, but that the outbreak was under control.
President Yoweri Museveni said the same day that the government would impose an overnight curfew and restrict movement for 21 days in two Ebola-hit central Uganda districts.
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that clinical trials of two vaccines could begin in the coming weeks without the approval of the Ugandan government, without naming the vaccines.
According to the WHO, at least six vaccines are in development for the Sudan strain, including three with Phase 1 data.
Oxford researchers expressed disappointment that their vaccine was not ready to be rolled out when the outbreak hit, saying governments around the world did not prioritize investment in vaccines enough in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic was given.
The vaccine has been in development for several years, but its progress through clinical trials has been slowed by a lack of funding, he said.
“With better investments, the world could easily create vials for this and vaccines for many other diseases,” said Sandy Douglas, an investigator at the Jenner Institute.
“We’re spending a few months now catching up on work that could have been done ahead of time.” , Reuters
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