SK Bioscience joins US-backed project to develop Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine

SK Bioscience will join global partners in a U.S. government-funded project to develop and produce a vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus, a strain of Ebola spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Korean vaccine maker said Thursday. The project, carried out with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a global nonprofit biomedical research organization, and Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories, will receive up to 130.9 billion won ($99 million) from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). BARDA is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. Initial funding of $36 million has been confirmed. The money will go toward clinical and regulatory work, including a Phase 1 trial, which tests a vaccine’s safety in a small group of people, as well as outbreak-response vaccine production and supply. Development of an upgraded vaccine based on variant strains is also planned. The Congo outbreak has reached 10,060 confirmed cases and 4,887 deaths as of Sunday, making it the s