The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has committed $4.17 million to four research projects examining whether existing Ebola vaccines can generate immune responses against the Bundibugyo virus.
The studies, according to a news release on the CEPI website, will analyse stored blood samples from thousands of people previously vaccinated against Zaire ebolavirus, including recipients of the Ervebo vaccine.
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This will help to determine whether the vaccines could offer some protection against the different Ebola virus species.
The research comes as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to battle the outbreak caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared the ongoing outbreak in the country the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record.
According to WHO’s latest disease outbreak update, 4,665 confirmed cases and 2,184 deaths have been recorded across five provinces and 54 health zones.
WHO also declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May.
No licensed Bundibugyo vaccine
According to the CEO of CEPI, Richard Hatchett, there is currently no licensed vaccine specifically approved for Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease.
Hatchett said Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates are being developed but would not be available during the earliest phase of the current outbreak.
“However, vaccines do exist for the related Zaire ebolavirus, including Ervebo. Given the recent announcement that Ervebo will be deployed for emergency use against Bundibugyo virus, these CEPI-backed studies will be all the more important to inform on how we can make the best use of the existing vaccine,” he said.
CEPI noted that the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritisation has recommended that Ervebo be evaluated in a phase three clinical trial alongside Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates when they become available.
It added that the DRC authorities and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have also announced plans to deploy Ervebo to priority groups under a protocol-governed expanded-use arrangement.
Research to guide vaccine decisions
CEPI said the projects were selected through its June 2026 call for proposals aimed at generating evidence for Bundibugyo vaccine research and development.
The organisation said the studies would help address gaps in knowledge about the potential use of existing vaccines against the virus and support decisions on vaccination during the current outbreak and future responses.
The funding is supported by the European Commission through a 2026 Horizon Europe grant, the United States Department of State and CEPI’s “existing core funding.”
What the studies will examine
CEPI said the four projects will focus on understanding whether vaccination against Zaire ebolavirus can trigger antibody responses that recognise Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
The studies will also help establish and standardise antibody tests for Bundibugyo virus and examine how long such immune responses last.
“Researchers will undertake antibody testing against all Orthoebolavirus species and Marburg virus, prioritising tests for Bundibugyo ebolavirus. They will examine which vaccines potentially provide cross-protection against Bundibugyo virus and identify vaccination regimens that might be associated with broad and durable cross-reactive immune responses,” CEPI noted.
“Part of the award will transfer these laboratory methods to INRB in DRC, harmonising their laboratory capacity with that of CEPI’s Centralised Laboratory Network and international antibody reference standards. First antibody results are expected within two to six months.”
Institutions involved
CEPI added that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Fielding School of Public Health will receive $2.05 million for its study.
The researchers will examine blood samples from more than 1,700 people who received Ervebo and another Ebola vaccine.
The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp will receive $1.02 million for its EBO-BOOST-BRIDGE project, which will study samples from more than 600 participants.
READ ALSO: WHO raises Ebola risk level as DRC outbreak worsens, reports new hantavirus cases
CEPI said the project would also transfer laboratory methods to the National Institute of Biomedical Research in the DRC, with the first results expected within two to six months.
The University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine’s Centre for Human Genetics and Pandemic Sciences Institute will receive $975,000 to study blood samples from people who received Ervebo and survivors of Zaire ebolavirus disease.
The study will examine whether immunity from vaccination or previous infection could potentially protect against Bundibugyo virus.
The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research will receive $120,000 to study samples from vaccinated close contacts and Ugandan healthcare workers.
The researchers will determine whether antibodies generated by Ervebo also recognise Bundibugyo virus.
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