$34.5 Million to Advance Ebola Sudan and Marburg Virus Vaccines

The Washington, DC-based Sabin Vaccine Institute announced on October 21, 2021, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) had exercised the third contract option, valued at $34.5 million, to advance the development of vaccines against Ebola Sudan and Marburg viruses.

This third contract option will enable continued nonclinical efficacy and safety studies, Phase 2 clinical trials in Africa, and vaccine manufacturing processes to ensure quality and safety.

In September 2019, BARDA awarded Sabin a development contract valued at up to $128 million and had already provided funding of $40.5 million.

The need for effective Marburg vaccines is increasing.

Like Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan and Marburg are among the world's deadliest viruses, causing hemorrhagic fever with subsequent death in an average of 50% of cases.

Marburg virus was first recognized in 1967, when hemorrhagic fever outbreaks coincided in laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, and in Serbia, says the U.S. CDC.

"We are grateful for BARDA's continued support of Sabin's efforts to advance vaccines against these deadly viruses," commented Sabin CEO Amy Finan in a press release.

"We also thank our partners at the Vaccine Research Center of the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for their continued collaboration and GSK for their earlier work on the candidates." 

The two candidate vaccines, based on GSK's proprietary ChAd3 platform, were licensed to the Sabin Vaccine Institute from GSK in 2019.

Recently, a case of Marburg disease was confirmed in the West African country of Guinea, where the Ministry of Health officially declared an outbreak of Marburg on August 9, 2021. 

Only one fatal case, in which the index patient was diagnosed with the virus posthumously, was recorded, and more than 170 high-risk contacts were monitored for 21 days.

This recent case, as well as Marburg's history of outbreaks and their potential for future devastating episodes, demonstrates that preventative measures are overdue to protect civilian populations, military personnel, first responders, health care workers, and laboratory workers, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Ebola Sudan and Marburg viruses are closely related to the Ebola Zaire virus, which has caused more than 2,200 deaths since 2018.

A batch of new Ebola Zaire-related deaths has recently been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where U.S. FDA Approved Ebola vaccines are deployed.

BARDA is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.