New Ebola vaccine shows promising results after Phase 1 trial

A newly-developed Ebola virus disease (EVD) vaccine was found to be well-tolerated with no safety concerns, according to a Phase 1 randomized clinical trial conducted by a team of researchers led by the Canadian Immunization Research Network.

The vaccine used in the trial, the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vaccine, was developed at the Canadian National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The Phase 1 trial involved 40 healthy people aged 18 to 65 years old and examined the safety of the vaccine, along with the lowest dose required for an immune response after administration with one of three doses.

At a ratio of 3:1, 30 of the participants received the vaccine with 10 subsequent placebo injections. Results showed adverse events for participants were mild to moderate in nature, with only three of them experiencing severe reactions. In addition, antibodies were found to be present in participants up to six months after immunization of the initial dose.

“The results of this trial were positive and very promising; all 3 dose levels of the VSV Ebola vaccine were well-tolerated by participants, and no safety concerns were identified,” study lead May ElSherif said.

Multiple EVD vaccine candidates are currently being assessed in either ongoing to recently-completed Phase 1, 2, and 3 trials at various international sites.

Wild type VSV is primarily known to infect animals, such as cattle and horses, and rarely infects humans.

The discovery comes as worldwide healthcare professionals work to contain a recent outbreak of the disease in a remote area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In total, 29 suspected cases have appeared since the first case was identified on April 22. It is the ninth such outbreak to appear in the DRC since 1976.