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Canada approves Moderna's first Ebola vaccine trials amid DR Congo outbreak
🇩🇰 Denmark /Health & Science

Canada approves Moderna's first Ebola vaccine trials amid DR Congo outbreak

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Canada has approved Moderna's first clinical trials for an Ebola vaccine targeting a rare variant spreading in DR Congo.
  • The Phase 1 trial will assess the vaccine's safety, as no approved treatments exist for the Bundibugyo variant, which has caused over 1,700 deaths.
  • Moderna's mRNA technology, used in its COVID-19 vaccine, underpins this new candidate, with Canada also agreeing to manufacture it domestically.

Canada has granted Moderna permission to begin the first clinical trials for its experimental Ebola vaccine. The vaccine targets a rare variant of the virus currently spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The health ministry confirmed the approval for the Phase 1 trial, which will primarily evaluate the vaccine's safety.

There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo variant of Ebola. This outbreak, the largest ever recorded in DR Congo, has claimed over 1,700 lives since it was declared less than three months ago. This marks the 17th Ebola outbreak registered in the country.

Moderna's vaccine utilizes the same mRNA technology that powered its successful COVID-19 vaccine. Canada has also secured an agreement with the company to produce the vaccine within its borders. Other vaccine candidates are also in development, with the University of Oxford having begun vaccinating its first participant with a different Ebola vaccine in late July.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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