In an article published in Nature(1) this week, test results have shown that a new Ebola vaccine gives macaque monkeys 100% protection from the Ebola virus with a single dose.
Scientists at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC), part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and scientists from the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) carried out the research. The vaccine is a prototype adenoviral vaccine, which is made by inserting a portion of Ebola virus DNA into an adenovirus, the virus that causes the common cold. The results suggest that humans may be protected by a single vaccine injection.
Crucell entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the NIH in 2002 to jointly develop an Ebola vaccine for human use. Currently Crucell is producing the experimental vaccine for testing in human trials on its proprietary PER.C6(TM) production platform. Crucell's PER.C6(TM) technology makes large-scale production of the vaccine possible.