Global Call for Bundibugyo Ebola Vaccine Development
UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have initiated a global outreach program to vaccine developers and manufacturers. Their goal is to accelerate the development and production of vaccines specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. This urgent push comes amidst a escalating outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, for which no approved vaccine currently exists.
The outbreak has already led to 1,094 confirmed cases and 277 deaths in eastern DRC, with Uganda reporting 20 confirmed cases and two fatalities. In response, UNICEF has issued a Request for Expression of Interest (EOI), inviting companies to submit details of their vaccine candidates, development timelines, and manufacturing capabilities. Gavi has committed up to $40 million in financing to support manufacturing readiness, production scale-up, and regulatory pathways, including World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing and prequalification, ensuring investigational doses are available for emergency deployment.
Addressing a Critical Vaccine Gap
This proactive approach by global health agencies aims to prevent a recurrence of past outbreaks where vaccine development significantly lagged the disease's spread. While vaccines are available for the Ebola Zaire species and are maintained in a global stockpile, no such approved vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo strain, highlighting a critical gap in global health preparedness.
The EOI builds upon existing efforts by the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which have been supporting the research and clinical development of potential vaccine candidates. UNICEF and Gavi will focus on evaluating manufacturing preparedness and identifying financial mechanisms to rapidly transition successful candidates from development to widespread deployment.
Global Partnerships and African Manufacturing Focus
The development effort includes an important international collaboration: India's Serum Institute is partnering with the University of Oxford on ChAdOx1 BDBV, a Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine candidate currently prioritized for evaluation. The UNICEF-Gavi initiative specifically aims to boost manufacturing readiness and future access to doses should this vaccine prove safe and effective.
Special consideration will be given to proposals that involve vaccine production in Africa, aligning with broader initiatives to strengthen regional manufacturing capacity and improve equitable access during public health emergencies. Beyond immediate outbreak response, manufacturer submissions will also inform UNICEF's future procurement strategies for Bundibugyo Ebola vaccines once regulatory approvals are secured. Additionally, Gavi has allocated up to $10 million from its First Response Fund to support broader outbreak control measures, including routine immunization, protection for healthcare workers, and other emergency response activities in affected countries.