Ten Years Ago Ebola Vaccine Researchers Could Not Find Investors.

Ten Years Ago Ebola Vaccine Researchers Could Not Find Investors.

On its front page, the New York Times (10/24, A1, Grady, Subscription Publication) explores the history of a decade-old Ebola vaccine that worked in monkeys, but researchers were unable to obtain funding to get the vaccine tested on humans. Until the current outbreak, Ebola was a rare disease, and so a vaccine would not have been a worthwhile investment, according to Thomas W. Geisbert and Dr. James E. Crowe Jr., experts on Ebola and vaccine research, respectively. Human tests have recently begun for the vaccine, VSV-EBOV, which was developed by Canada and the US. The San Antonio Express-News (10/24, O'Connor, Rosenthal) also covers the story.

        Ebola Vaccine Clinical Trial Details Trickle Out After WHO Meeting. The New York Times (10/24, A18, Pollack, Subscription Publication) provides details on two large, separate clinical trials for Ebola vaccines planned to begin in Liberia and Sierra Leone as soon as January. The issue was discussed at a WHO meeting yesterday in Geneva and conclusions of the meeting “are expected to be announced Friday.” According to sources, one trial will test GlaxoSmithKline’s vaccine against NewLink Genetics’ and a placebo, such as a flu vaccine. Broken into thirds, each category of participants will consist of 9,000 people, says the Times. In the other trial, “everyone at a particular site, such as a treatment center, will be offered a vaccine” on a rotating basis and no placebo.

        The Science Magazine (10/24, Cohen, Kupferschmidt) “Science Insider” blog gained access to “extensive background documents” from the WHO meeting and has more details on the planned trials as well as other issues, such as GSK’s plans to scale up production during trials. The company is expected to have “24,000 doses of its vaccine ready by January for the efficacy trials.” If it boosts production to “full capacity before the those trials are complete, the company could have 230,000 doses available in April, and then could steadily increase capacity to produce more than 1 million doses a month by December 2015,” according to documents. Meanwhile, Forbes (10/24, Munro) contributor Dan Munro examined the ScienceInsider blog piece.

        The Washington Post (10/24, Dennis) also provides coverage of the WHO meeting, saying researchers and officials are “raising hard questions,” such as whether it is “acceptable to conduct a randomized controlled trial” and how the vaccines will be “safely transported and kept at the cold temperatures required in areas without reliable electricity.” GSK VP Ripley Ballou was at the meeting and “made a forceful argument for conducting a randomized control trial.” The Post quotes Ballou as saying, “The intent would be collecting and analyzing the data in as close to real time as possible. . . . As soon as we’re convinced the vaccine works, or doesn’t work, we stop the trial. If it works, everybody gets the vaccine. If it doesn’t work, we stop the trial and stop giving out the vaccine.” The Financial Times (10/24, Ward, Subscription Publication) reports under the headline, “Industry Response To Ebola Quickens.”

        Early Vaccine Trials Show Promise. The Washington Post (10/24, Dennis) reports in “Health and Science” that “researchers racing to develop a vaccine that could help halt the Ebola epidemic are getting good news: Early human clinical trials of one leading candidate, involving small groups of volunteers in the United States and Europe, suggest that the vaccine is safe.” Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the vaccine on large groups of people in West Africa remains uncertain. As a result, scientists and governments are “raising hard questions,” such as whether it is “acceptable to conduct a randomized controlled trial” and how the vaccines will be “safely transported and kept at the cold temperatures required in areas without reliable electricity.”