UK researchers are rushing to develop a new Ebola vaccine based on the exact same viral vector platform used in the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab.
The effort comes as a new outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG) announced it is urgently producing its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 BDBV, which could enter human clinical trials in as little as two to three months if animal testing succeeds.
The Bundibugyo Ebolavirus is one of the less common but still highly lethal strains of Ebola.
Unlike the more frequently seen Zaire strain, there are currently no licensed vaccines or specific treatments approved for Bundibugyo virus disease.
The WHO and local authorities have described the situation as “spreading rapidly,” with contact tracing and quarantine efforts underway. However, the risk to the UK and broader Europe remains low, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The candidate vaccine is a monovalent (single-strain) ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine specifically targeting the Bundibugyo Ebolavirus.
It uses the ChAdOx1 viral vector platform, the same chimpanzee adenovirus-based technology used for the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Hellbound and Down 