The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has announced $4.17m for four research projects to determine whether existing or previously licensed vaccines against Zaire ebolavirus could generate immune responses against Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
The virus is responsible for the escalating outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The studies, led by research groups at UCLA, the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, the University of Oxford and the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, will analyse stored blood samples from thousands of people previously vaccinated against Zaire ebolavirus.
No vaccine is currently licensed specifically for Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
However, the DRC authorities and Africa CDC have announced plans to deploy the Zaire ebolavirus vaccine Ervebo to priority groups under protocol-governed expanded use, while the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritization has recommended prospective evaluation of Ervebo in a Phase III clinical trial.
The CEPI-backed studies will investigate whether vaccination against Zaire ebolavirus produces antibodies that recognise Bundibugyo virus, as well as the strength, durability and cross-reactivity of these immune responses.
The resulting data could help establish standardised serological assays for Bundibugyo ebolavirus and support the interpretation of clinical trials of both Bundibugyo-specific and broadly protective filovirus vaccines.
At UCLA, researchers will draw on more than 1700 participants and around 1800 stored serum samples from cohorts vaccinated with Ervebo or the Zabdeno/Mvabea regimen.
ITM’s EBO-BOOST-BRIDGE project will analyse samples from more than 600 participants and transfer laboratory methods to the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) in the DRC.
Its first antibody results are expected within the next two to six months.
Oxford researchers will examine samples from Ervebo recipients and Zaire ebolavirus survivors, while the Glasgow team will use existing cohorts in Scotland and Uganda to assess whether Ervebo-induced antibodies recognise Bundibugyo virus.
CEPI said in its statement that the projects are intended to generate evidence rapidly enough to inform vaccine deployment during the current outbreak, while strengthening the scientific and laboratory infrastructure needed to respond to future outbreaks caused by emerging filoviruses.
