Minapharm Group receives $16.5M for Bundibugyo ebola vaccine

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is providing up to $16.5 million to the African biopharmaceutical company Minapharm Group to advance a vaccine candidate targeting the Bundibugyo ebolavirus. The funding will support the candidate through preclinical development and into early-stage Phase 1 clinical trials to evaluate safety and immune response.

Designed by Berlin-based ProBioGen, a subsidiary of Minapharm, the vaccine utilizes the MVA-CR19 modified vaccinia Ankara platform. This technology has previously been used in licensed vaccines for smallpox and mpox. Notably, this is the only Bundibugyo vaccine candidate currently funded by CEPI designed to induce both B- and T-cell responses to aim for long-lasting immunity.

The development comes in response to an escalating Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been described as the country’s largest and deadliest. This candidate represents the fifth Bundibugyo-specific vaccine being supported by CEPI to combat the epidemic.