Bavarian Nordic confirms positive Ebola vaccine trial results

Bavarian Nordic A/S recently published the results of a Phase I trial of a preventive Ebola vaccine regimen in the latest edition of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association

The regimen was undertaken by healthy volunteers who generally responded well to the vaccine, according to the results. The test did not result in any vaccine-related serious adverse events.

Approximately 97 percent of the trial participants generated antibodies specific to Ebola four weeks after a priming dose with AdVac, while 79 to 100 percent of the trial subjects showing T-cell responses depending on the dosing interval, validating the prime-boost concept of the vaccine.

The Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford Department of Pediatrics lead the primary study in the U.K., with the regimen consisting of two compenents based on AdVac technology from Crucell Holland B.V., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and MVA-BN technology from Bavarian Nordic.

One of the most promising details to emerge from the trial was that after eight months following prime vaccination, 100 percent of individuals in the study maintained antibodies specific to Ebola, while vaccine-induced T cell responses persisted in 77 to 80 percent of those receiving the AdVac/MVA-BN regimen.