Riding a newfound surge of interest on infectious disease concerns, Moderna is linking up with a global vaccine foundation in hopes of developing a vaccine to slow the new surge in Ebola underway in the Congo and Uganda.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is investing up to $50 million for early-stage testing of Moderna’s experimental Ebola vaccine as suspected deaths from the latest outbreak surpass 200.
CEPI’s commitment to Moderna will fuel preclinical activities and Phase 1 studies for the mRNA candidate targeting Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV), one of several virus strains that cause the rare and severe Ebola disease—and the form currently circulating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. There are currently no approved vaccines or candidates in clinical development that target BDBV.
At the same time, CEPI’s money will support manufacturing efforts that would allow for the immediate launch of large Phase 2/3 trials if Phase 1 data supports further development, according to a Monday release.
Moderna’s early-stage program is built off the same mRNA technology used to rapidly create and scale Spikevax, the company’s COVID-19 vaccine that was bolstered by the U.S. government to help curb the pandemic that swept the world in 2020.
The new pact expands on an existing alliance between Moderna and CEPI formed in late 2023 and focused on Moderna’s mRNA platform and accelerating countermeasures for potential epidemic and pandemic threats.
The investment comes on the heels of a rough year for Moderna as the Trump administration’s health agencies shifted positions on vaccines, prompting the company to discontinue investment for late-stage vaccine studies of infectious diseases earlier this year. But concerns surrounding the recent hantavirus outbreak have pushed up Moderna’s stock and sent a reminder about the company’s past ability to protect against pandemics.
As for CEPI, the global foundation is also investing in two other preclinical vaccine candidates targeting BDBV: up to $3.2 million for the non-profit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and up to $8.6 million for a candidate from the University of Oxford that’s manufactured at the Serum Institute of India. The latter stems from the English university’s ChAdOx1 platform that underpinned the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria, which has since been withdrawn from the market for commercial reasons.
All the CEPI-chosen platforms have extensive safety data and have been used to develop vaccine candidates that have demonstrated efficacy against related filoviruses, a family of viruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fevers, according to the organization. Other filovirus conditions include Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan virus and Marburg virus.
Over 900 suspected Ebola cases have been tallied so far amid the ongoing outbreak, which is the third largest filovirus outbreak ever, according to CEPI.
“With Bundibugyo virus spreading rapidly and no licensed vaccines, every day counts in the race against this deadly disease,” CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said in Monday release. “CEPI’s urgent funding and support aims to advance safe, effective vaccines to help control this epidemic.”
