Ebola Vaccine Trial in Africa May Support More Potent Version
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
An experimental Ebola vaccine showed it was safe and generated an immune response in healthy Ugandan adults in a clinical trial that bodes well for a more potent version undergoing testing.
“This is the first study to show comparable safety and protection of an experimental Ebola vaccine in an African population,” said Julie Ledgerwood, lead author of results published today in the Lancet journal. The outcome is encouraging because vaccines for some diseases are less effective for Africans, said Ledgerwood, a researcher at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In the early-stage trial, 108 adults from Kampala were given either an Ebola vaccine, a shot for the closely related Marburg virus, both medicines or a placebo. The Ebola and Marburg vaccines generated a similar immune response in the Ugandan group as they did in study of healthy U.S. adults.
The vaccines were developed by NIAID, which is researching a more powerful version withGlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) that is being tested in the U.S., U.K., Mali and Uganda.
Source: Bloomberg (link opens in a new window)
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