Ebola Vaccines Texas BIO LAB developing new ebola virus vaccine

SAN ANTONIO (December 19, 2022) – A Sudan ebolavirus vaccine and antibody therapeutic tested at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have been sent to Uganda as part of efforts to control the…

SAN ANTONIO (December 19, 2022) – A Sudan ebolavirus vaccine and antibody therapeutic tested at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have been sent to Uganda as part of efforts to control the outbreak there.

Sudan ebolavirus is one of six known species of Ebola, with a fatality rate ranging between 41% and 100%. While an Ebola vaccine now exists, it is effective against the Zaire species, not the closely related Sudan species currently affecting Uganda. Since the Sudan virus outbreak began in September, at least 142 people have been infected and 55 people have died, including many children.

The World Health Organization and other global entities announced in November they are working with Ugandan officials to distribute Sudan ebolavirus vaccine candidates in clinical trials. One of those candidates, currently being developed by Sabin Vaccine Institute, has been undergoing preclinical testing at Texas Biomed to evaluate safety and efficacy, and an initial shipment of the vaccine is now in Uganda. The Institute has also been subcontracted by Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. to support the development of its antibody therapeutic, MBP134, which has been deployed to the region to treat infected patients. Development of the vaccine and antibody candidates is currently being funded in whole or in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)*.