Systems Analysis of Adult and Pediatric Responses to the VSV-Zebov Ebola Vaccine: new research project launched.
The IMI collaborative research project VSV-EBOPLUS on systems analysis of adult and pediatric responses to the investigational rVSVrG-ZEBOV-GP Ebola Zaire vaccine has started. VSV-EBOPLUS will decipher the immune and molecular signatures of adult and pediatric responses elicited by the investigational rVSVrG-ZEBOV-GP vaccine, based on the replication-competent recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) expressing a Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) glycoprotein, the only Ebola vaccine with demonstrated 100% protective efficacy in humans.
VSV-EBOPLUS will apply advanced cutting-edge technologies and systems vaccinology approaches to characterize the signatures of the responses to rVSVrG-ZEBOV-GP vaccination in clinical studies conducted in three different continents (Europe, Africa, US), in almost 1’000 adults, adolescents and children.
VSV-EBOPLUS is a public-private consortium of 12 partners from 8 different countries involving experts from academic and research institutions, 3 clinical sites (Switzerland, Gabon, USA) and the rVSVrG-ZEBOV-GP vaccine manufacturer. The project, of the duration of 5 years, has a total budget of more than €15 million, and it is funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 (IMI 2) Joint Undertaking that receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
“The VSV-EBOPLUS project is an unprecedented collaborative effort to profile the immunological responses to the rVSVrG-ZEBOV-GP vaccine in adults and children, the most vulnerable population. The availability of a large number of samples from vaccinees across different age groups, time points, and continents may accelerate the Ebola vaccine development,” says Donata Medaglini from University of Siena and Sclavo Vaccines Association.
The VSV-EBOPLUS project represents an important step forward in the development of a vaccine to counter Ebola infection in humans that has a demonstrated safety and efficacy profile.
Facts about VSV-EBOPLUS:
Title: Systems analysis of adult and pediatric responses to the VSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine
Acronym: VSV-EBOPLUS
Duration: 5 years
IMI funding: 8,553,750 EUR
EFPIA in kind contribution: 4,828,910 EUR
Other contributions: 2,048,000 EUR
Total cost: 15,430,660 EUR
Participants:
Sclavo Vaccines Association (Italy)
University of Geneva (Switzerland)
Merck & Co., Inc. (NJ, USA)
University of Gothenburg (Sweden)
University of Siena (Italy)
Academisch Ziekenhuis Leiden (The Netherlands)
MICROBIOTEC srl (Italy)
Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen (Germany)
Universidade De Sao Paulo and Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Farmacêuticas (Brazil)
Spiez Laboratory, Federal Office for Civil Protection (Switzerland)
Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (Gabon)
This project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 116068. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA.