WHO: Ebola Vaccine Tests January 2015

A number of companies have entered rapid development of potential vaccines to be used for preventing Ebola. The World Health Organization has indicated that testing in West Africa should begin as early as January of 2015. Currently, some formulas have shown promise, but still require further exploration.   Initial testing has indicated that vaccines are providing an immune response which is a signal that they may be effective for inoculation. The two primary candidates are being tested in 250 healthy adults outside of the outbreak region.   Vaccine Candidate 1 - developed in partnership between the National Institutes of Health and GlaxoSmithKline   Vaccine Candidate 2 - developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada and licensed to NewLink Genetics in Iowa   Other vaccines are being developed and tested by Johnson & Johnson, Bavarian Nordic, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Protein Sciences, Profectus BioSciences of Baltimore, and others. Fortunately, the U.S. Government is helping to fund the efforts to develop Ebola vaccines to help expedite the process and take the onus off pharmaceutical companies.   Pharmaceutical manufacturers are not awaiting the completion of stage 1 testing and results to advance into further development. Due to the high priority of vaccine development, it is expected that full production will begin as soon as possible to make hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of vaccines available. Initially, however, vaccines will primarily be distributed to healthcare workers in the affected regions.