Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.Crucell Holland, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, has secured $28.5mn from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of US to speed up the development of its Ebola prime-boost vaccine regimen.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
The regimen uses a combination of two components based on Crucell Holland’s AdVac technology and MVA-BN technology from Bavarian Nordic.
The deal includes a 5-year commitment, with options for a further $40.5m funding, for optimizing manufacturing systems and capacity of the regimen.
Phase one clinical studies of the regimen started in the UK and US in December last year, followed by various sites in Africa.
BARDA, a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, will support manufacturing development of the regimen’s prime and boost components.
The authority has the option to use clinical grade material developed through the project to offer vaccine for clinical studies.
It compares the safety and immunogenicity of various formulations of the boost vaccine when given in combination with Crucell Holland’s, Ad26.ZEBOV prime vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson chief scientific officer and worldwide chairman of pharmaceuticals Paul Stoffels said: "We are committed to finding a way to support the fight to get to and stay at zero Ebola cases worldwide.
"Future outbreaks are a real danger, and we need to be prepared for them. This BARDA investment in our prime-boost vaccine approach will help us to further develop and potentially deliver a vaccine with both short and long-term protection."
Johnson & Johnson said at present, there is no licensed vaccine, treatment or cure for the Ebola virus.
More than 28,100 people have been infected with the virus across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, and over 11,300 have died, including more than 500 healthcare workers.