African biopharmaceutical company Minapharm Group is to receive up to US$16.5 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to advance the development of a Bundibugyo Ebola virus vaccine candidate, strengthening efforts to develop vaccines to combat the fastest-growing and second-largest Ebola outbreak on record affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Minapharm’s Bundibugyo vaccine is designed by ProBioGen, a Berlin-based specialist within Minapharm Group, based on its proprietary modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccine platform, MVA-CR19. A similar technology underpins a licensed vaccine against smallpox and mpox, and has elicited long-term immunity in a vaccine targeting the related Zaire Ebola virus.
CEPI’s funding will advance the Bundibugyo vaccine candidate through preclinical development and into an early-stage clinical trial to assess the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine candidate. The Phase 1 trial is expected to take place in Africa.
Minapharm’s investigational vaccine becomes the fifth Bundibugyo-specific virus vaccine candidate supported by CEPI in response to the escalating epidemic. It joins a portfolio of promising CEPI-backed candidates built on different vaccine technologies to maximise the likelihood of developing a safe and effective shot that could help bring this devastating crisis under control.
It is the only Bundibugyo vaccine candidate CEPI is funding that is designed to induce both B- and T-cell responses for comprehensive and long-lasting immunity.
“CEPI’s funding to Minapharm harnesses the growing strength of African-led innovation to help confront this increasingly severe outbreak and prepare for future threats,” said Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI. “In just three months, cases of Bundibugyo have spread rapidly across the DRC, making this the largest and deadliest outbreak the country has ever faced. We are proud to support Minapharm’s Bundibugyo vaccine candidate: it will round out CEPI’s portfolio, give the world another shot on goal, and advance Minapharm’s proprietary MVA platform, which if successful can serve as the basis for future African-manufactured filovirus vaccines. The faster we can advance a pipeline of promising candidates, the better our chances of saving lives and bringing this epidemic under control.”
CEPI’s goal is to bring at least two Bundibugyo vaccines to Emergency Use Authorisation and WHO Prequalification to respond to this outbreak, while also building readiness for future Bundibugyo epidemics.
If the Phase 1 trial of the vaccine candidate is successful, CEPI anticipates working with Minapharm and ProBioGen to support late-stage trials to generate efficacy data for emergency use authorisation and licensure. CEPI, Minapharm and ProBioGen are committed to enabling rapid, affordable supply of the vaccine to affected countries and to the populations that need them should it prove safe and effective.