J&J publish promising Ebola vaccine data
pharmafile | September 14, 2021 | News story | Research and Development |
Johnson & Johnson have released promising data regarding their Ebola vaccine regimen, as it demonstrates antibody immune responses in adults and children.
The data was published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Monday.
The two-dose regimen was well-tolerated and induced antibody responses to the Zaire ebolavirus species 21 days after the second dose in 98% of all participants, the company said, citing data from a late-stage trial.
The regimen, Zabdeno and Mvabea, generated immune responses that persisted in adults for at least two years.
J&J added that there were no safety signals of concern.
J&J’s Chief Scientific Officer, Paul Stoffels, said: “These peer-reviewed data support the prophylactic use of the Johnson & Johnson Ebola vaccine regimen to protect people at risk of Ebola, which is essential to our vision of preventing Ebola outbreaks before they can begin.”
In May, 2020, the Janssen Vaccines & Prevention heterologous primary and booster Ebola vaccine regimen, comprising the adenovirus type 26 vector-based vaccine expressing Zaire Ebola virus glycoprotein (Ad26.ZEBOV) and the modified vaccinia Ankara vector-based vaccine, encoding glycoproteins from Zaire Ebola virus, Sudan virus, and Marburg virus, and nucleoprotein from the Tai Forest virus (MVA-BN-Filo), administered 8 weeks apart, was granted marketing authorisation by the European Commission for the prevention of Ebola virus disease in adults and children aged one years or older.
Clinical development of the Ad26.ZEBOV and MVA-BN-Filo vaccine regimen included several Phase I clinical trials carried out simultaneously at various sites, including: Uganda, which is endemic for Ebola virus disease and at risk of an outbreak, with reported cases of Ebola virus disease; in Tanzania and Kenya, which are also at risk of an outbreak, but have no previously reported cases of Ebola virus disease; and in the UK and the USA, which are only at risk of imported cases of Ebola virus disease.
Ebola typically kills about half of those it infects, although vaccines and new treatments have proven highly effective in reducing fatality rates.
Last month, the WHO warned that on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Africa is facing new outbreaks of the viral haemorrhagic fevers Marburg and Ebola, risking huge strains on ill-equipped health systems.
Kat Jenkins
