J&J Fast Tracks Ebola Vaccine, Will Start Trials In 2015

Johnson & Johnson announced that it has decided to fast track its Ebola vaccine development program in partnership with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Denmark-based biotech Bavarian Nordic.

The vaccine program will focus on a prime-boost regimen featuring two vaccine components, one of which is used to prime and the other to provide a boost to the immune response against the virus. J&J’s vaccine arm, Crucell, will provide its AdVac technology, while Bavarian Nordic will provide its MVA-BN technology needed for the vaccine development. The company has set its targets on early 2015 for the launch of clinical trials investigating the combined vaccine regimen in human patients.

The decision to accelerate the Ebola vaccine program is in response to the worsening Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has claimed more than 1,900 lives in the region since March.

“In light of the current emergency in West Africa and given the evident, huge unmet medical need, we are stepping up our efforts and accelerating the Ebola program currently in pre-clinical development. We recognize the urgency of the situation and the need to collaborate with multiple partners to develop treatment and preventive solutions for Ebola,” said Johan Van Hoof, Global Head of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines at Janssen, and Managing Director of Crucell.

J&J said its long term goal is to develop a vaccine that can provide protection against the Zaire and Sudan strains of Ebola, as well as Marburg disease. Preclinical studies of J&J’s vaccine have shown that it provided “complete” protection against the virus’ Zaire strain in macaque monkeys.

Other companies have also accelerated their Ebola vaccine programs in response to the crisis. These included GlaxoSmithKline, Tekmira, and NewLink. GSK and NewLink, like J&J’s Crucell, are working with the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in order to develop the necessary vaccines to fight against Ebola.