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Human trials of Ebola vaccines by year's end

October 24, 2014

The World Health Organization has announced that two potential Ebola vaccines will be ready for human trials by December. Successful trials could lead to hundreds of thousands of available doses in 2015.

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Impfstoff gegen Ebola
Image: Reuters

Extensive trials of two newly developed Ebola vaccines could begin before the end of the year, a World Health Organization (WHO) official told reporters on Friday.

"All is being put in place to start efficacy tests in the affected countries as early as December," said Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO assistant director general for health systems and innovation.

The announcement came after the UN health agency held private talks with officials from the three most affected nations - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - as well as health experts, pharmaceutical executives and funding agencies. The two most advanced experimental drugs, one of which is produced by GlaxoSmithKline, will go to human trials first, with five other vaccines scheduled to begin testing in March.

However GSK's Chief Executive, Andrew Witty, cautioned on Thursday that companies needed some sort of protection from governments, considering the normally years-long procedure for safety testing must be reduced to months.

GlaxoSmithKline Andrew Witty
Andrew Witty is CEO of Britain's pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKlineImage: AP

Between 20,000 and 30,000 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will participate in the testing. If all goes well, hundreds of thousands of doses could be rolled out by mid-2015.

Kieny warned not to expect miracles, saying "vaccines are not a magic bullet, but when ready they may be a good part of the effort to turn the tide against the epidemic.”

Concerns over the cost of combating the virus were also addressed in the closed-door discussions hosted by WHO. Drug makers assured the UN health agency that vaccines will be kept affordable.

This news coincided with the EU pledging a further 600 million euros (720 million dollars) to the fight against Ebola. Just last week, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan criticized the West for not doing more, and only vowing to fight the virus after it had reached the US and Europe.

USA Ebola in New York Krankenhaus Bellevue Hospital
Dr. Craig Spencer, who was in West Africa helping Ebola patients, is being treated at Bellevue Hospital in New YorkImage: Reuters/E. Munoz

In addition to money, the EU has also named incoming Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Christos Styliandies, as ‘Ebola czar' - he's tasked with coordinating the efforts of all 28 EU nations.

The disease has claimed more almost 4,900 lives in Africa since the outbreak was detected in March. It has infected nearly 10,000 people. There are confirmed cases now being treated in Mali and New York City.

es/jr (AP, AFP, Reuters)