New Vaccine Shows Robust Immune Response Against Ebola Virus in Phase-1 Trial

Novavax company has developed a new vaccine which has proved to be highly effective against the deadly Ebola virus in its phase-1 trial. The Ebola vaccine is a Ebola virus glycoprotein recombinant nanoparticle which has provoked high antibody responses against the Ebola virus. The vaccine targets a particular strain of Ebola which is responsible for most of the cases in west Africa. The ebolavirus glycoprotein recombinant nanoparticle vaccine, or Ebola GP vaccine for short, was well-tolerated and provoked high ebolavirus antibody responses, said Dr. Greg Glenn, Novavax’s research chief.

The study was carried on 230 healthy adults where the Ebola vaccine has induced significant response to the deadly infection in an early stage trial. It was found to be well tolerated and “highly immunogenic” at all dosage levels. But it has induced some minor side effects such as head aches.

Glenn said, “ We have a very, very robust immune response. Monkeys who exhibited the same response to the vaccine were completely protected. These data together with two positive challenge studies in nonhuman primates suggest that the Ebola GP vaccine would be protective in humans.”

Though there has been a decline in number of Ebola victims, the company still aims to prepare lots of Ebola vaccine for future outbreaks and also for long-term vaccination of all West Africans including healthcare workers and military personnel. The company also revealed that the vaccine may be ready for the markets in 2 or 3 years.



Source-Medindia