The largest ever Lassa Fever study in West Africa secured the means of testing this week, thanks to a contract between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Zalgen Labs LLC, which will supply antibody testing kits for up to 7,000 participants.
Zalgen, a biotechnology and diagnostics company focused on hemorrhagic fevers with pandemic potential, supply these diagnostics for three years. As a result, the study — also created and funded by CEPI — will move forward in Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Through these tests, researchers will be better able to estimate how many people have been previously infected with Lassa Fever.
Experts estimate that the virus infects somewhere between 100,000 to 300,000 people per year, although the true case count is unknown. The World Health Organization has classified the potentially deadly hemorrhagic illness the Lassa Virus (LASV) as a disease with epidemic potential.
“Used across five partner countries who have experienced outbreaks of the potentially deadly hemorrhagic fever, these kits will provide novel information to help support healthcare workers and researchers in West Africa on the true disease burden, while also providing the critical data necessary for future late-stage Lassa vaccine clinical trials,” Melanie Saville, director of Vaccine Research and Development for CEPI, said.
With Zalgren’s test kits, CEPI intends to investigate the rate, location and spread of Lassa virus across West Africa. Results will guide the location and initiation of future late-stage trials of Lassa vaccines, six of which are currently in either preclinical or Phase 1 trials thanks to CEPI’s involvement.
“Zalgen was founded on the concept of developing solutions to emerging viral threats in neglected regions of the world,” Dr. Luis Branco, managing director and co-founder of Zalgen, said. “We intend to continue to work with CEPI and our other partners and collaborators worldwide to address Lassa Fever and to prepare for other unmet needs yet to surface.”
Data from the study and from Zalgen’s tests will be made available to partners and to the public through peer-reviewed, open-access publications and CEPI’s own hub on The Global Health Network.