HHS, perhaps stung by criticism that the federal government hasn't done enough to combat the spread of Ebola, announced Thursday that it will provide $5.8 million in funding to speed development of an Ebola vaccine.
The money is part of a one-year contract with Baltimore-based Profectus BioSciences and could be extended to 13 months and a total outlay of $8.6 million, HHS said in a news release.
“We are pushing hard to advance the development of multiple products as quickly as possible for clinical evaluation and future use in preventing or treating this deadly disease,” said Robin Robinson, director of HHS' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. “Our goal is to close the global gap in vaccines and therapeutics needed to protect the public health from Ebola as highlighted by the epidemic in West Africa.”
Profectus will manufacture the vaccine for use in animal-safety studies and future clinical trials. It will conduct animal studies to test safety, the release notes.
“Upon successful completion of this work, the company is expected to submit an investigational new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” HHS said. “This application, once accepted by the FDA, would allow the vaccine to begin the first clinical trials for safety in humans.”
Last year Profectus presented research saying that its vaccine protected monkeys against Ebola in a research trial.
This apparently won't be the last from HHS for Ebola vaccine research and development. “The agency is seeking additional proposals for the advanced development of antibody treatments, antiviral drugs, and vaccines against the Ebola and Marburg viruses, both of which cause viral hemorrhagic fever,” the release states.
Follow John N. Frank on Twitter: @MHJFrank
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