Bavarian Nordic A/S and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced this week that they will support World Health Organization (WHO) led efforts to contain the spread of Ebola in West Africa through the donation of up to 200,000 doses of J&J’s vaccine regimen.
The partnership owes to the fact that Bavarian Nordic’s Mvabea is included in the regimen. These regimens are being doled out through an early access clinical program directed by WHO and participating national governments. First doses were issued last week in Sierra Leone, following prequalification from the WHO.
Both adults and children can utilize the vaccine regimen to induce immunity against Ebola. In addition to the prequalification from WHO, it was also approved by the European Commission last July, both of which will help accelerate its registration in other countries currently under regular threat of Ebola.
“We are proud to be part of the strong commitment from Johnson & Johnson in the fight against Ebola, and we continue to support these efforts through manufacturing of vaccines to meet the increasing demand,” Paul Chaplin, president and CEO of Bavarian Nordic, said. “Vaccines remain the single-most-important tool to protect the West African population and prevent future Ebola outbreaks, and Prequalification from WHO is an important step towards securing broader access for countries at risk.”
The latest Ebola outbreak crept up in Guinea in February this year. For the West African nation, it was the first time Ebola has struck there since the end of the record 2014-2016 outbreak. This outbreak seems to have been caused by the same strain as the last and has already caused at least 23 cases and 12 deaths.
“Johnson & Johnson’s vision is to help prevent Ebola outbreaks before they start. WHO Prequalification of our vaccine regimen and the deployment to West Africa are important steps forward in reaching this goal and an important milestone for epidemic preparedness,” Dr. Paul Stoffels, vice chairman of the executive committee and Chief Scientific Officer of J&J, said. “By working closely with the WHO and national governments, we will be able to quickly support efforts to protect populations at risk and help end this latest outbreak. This proactive approach is essential if we are to solve the growing threat of infectious diseases, including Ebola.”